Former Bank President Continues to Linger in Jail
Carlos Alvardao Moya, former president of the failed Banco ELCA continues in preventive detention at San Sebastain jail, south of San José, almost two years later, without having formal charges filed against and no end in sight of the investigation against him and two of his former bank officials.

Alvarado, was detained on 23 July 2004 for alleged irregularities with credit lending at the bank that was founded by his father and intervened by the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF) and the Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero (CONASIF) on June 28, 2004.

Sugef had found a deterioration of the bank's lending portfolio and a number of irregular loans that place depositor's money at risk.

Small depositors with less that ¢4.4 million colones (US$10.000) at the bank were able to make withdrawls while larger depositors are still waiting on the word if anything will come their way once the bank regulator has finished liquidating the bank's assets.

According to Sergio Bonilla, of the Oficina de Prensa del Poder Judicial (court press office), Alvarado was given bail on the payment of us$650.000. Sources close to the Alvarado family say that a sizeable property was being encumbered to make the bail condition.

Although the Fiscalía has not completed its investigation, Alvarado may face additional legal problems with the news that he was vice-president of the company that sold the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública 46 vehicles to be used for patrol cars by the Fuerza Pública under the name Aro, manufactured in Romania.

Hernán González Peña, former manager of the Banco ELCA and accused with Alvardao, was also the treasurer of Automotores Europeos de Centroamérica S. A..

The problem is that the vechiles quickly fell apart, some on the same day of delivery and according to Ministro de Seguridad Pública, Fernando Berrocal, the purchase has meant a big loss to the state.

Fernando Cruz Alfaro, president of Automotores Europeos de Centroamérica S. A., who was involved in the sale of the 46 vehicles in 2000 defends the sale saying that the government was looking to purchase vehicles at the cheapest price and we met the criteria in being awarded the contract.

For Alvarado, the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública has not yet made any formal charges against Automotores Europeos nor him. Ramos said that he had asked the Procuraduría (the attorney general) to file charges against the owners of Automotores Europeos, who chose to move against the company in civil court rather than criminally.

However, new Security minister Berrocal is taking a closer look at the deal as the new government tries to clean up some of the past "errors" made by the previous governments of Miguel Angel Rodríguez and Abel Pacheco.