Another Corruption Scandal Rocks Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic and its gaming industry are facing another high profile trial, as the infamous Operation 13 case winds down. This time, 20 defendants are accused of being involved in a substantial case of government corruption, connected to sports betting in the country. These defendants stand accused of embezzling $308,364,700 million USD from State coffers.
A fraud case in the Dominican Republic has made significant headway, implicating 20 former officials in a sports betting embezzlement case.
©Alexander Mils/Unsplash
Details of the case
Still reeling from the Operation 13 lottery fraud case, the Dominican Republic must now deal with a new corruption scandal. This time, it was called Operación Calamar, or “Operation Squid,” and involved high-powered administrators connected to former President Danilo Medina, who served from 2012 to 2020.
At first, 15 former officials were implicated as a part of the case, but that number has grown to 20. When the case began in March 2023, 40 raids took place in various Dominican Republic provinces, involving hundreds of government agents. The resulting case includes 1,200 pieces of evidence from these raids and subsequent testimonies, and a 3,000 page file by the Public Ministry.
The investigation has been carried out by the Special Prosecutor for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca). Pepca has been successful in charging powerful officials as a part of the case, including Oscar Chalas Guerrero and Julián Omar Fernández, who used to direct the government’s Casinos and Gambling division.
Also included is the former Minister of Finance, Donald Guerrero, and many others who worked closely with President Medina. The group has been accused of money laundering and of working together to embezzle funds from the government (through its sports betting regulation), coerce other officials, commit fraud by way of false documents, and finally, to break campaign laws with illegal financing.
What progress has been made?
The case has already made significant headway in a months’ time. Most recently, several of the defendants were sentenced to 18 months of preventive detention. This will take place at the Center for Correction and Rehabilitation Najayo Men. Another defendant has been placed on house arrest to ensure he will not flee the country.
Out of everyone involved in the case, the judge found that 20 could face coercive measures — such as preventative detention, house arrest, and more — based on the evidence that the court has collected. Meanwhile, the director of the prosecution also said that the evidence creates an extremely solid case against the defendants. In other words, it seems likely that those involved will face serious and just consequences for their crimes.
So far, defendants have fought back by presenting individual cases and evidence regarding health issues and other personal circumstances that may prevent them from complying with a detention sentence. However, all of these appeals have been rejected by the judge. Therefore the 14 that have agreed to coercive measures will be obliged to comply.
The investigation, while progressing rapidly, is still ongoing of course, and more information is bound to unfold in the coming weeks and months. The next step will be the involvement of a judge from the Supreme Court of Justice. This judge will look in particular at the case against Deputy Sergio Moya.
If found guilty, the defendants will likely be made to pay back a cost to the state, including damages, as was the decision in the Operation 13 case. The amount of damages has not been determined yet. However, it is known that the equivalent of more than $300 million USD was stolen, contributing to administrative debts of $344 million USD.
