A group of 40 prosecutors came to Congress to look for documents to check if there is staff who are paid without working. Assembly Speaker Mario Ponce said he had tried to “clean up the house” but hit “the interests of other parties”.
A group of 40 prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption and Impunity Unit of the General Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) yesterday attacked the facilities of the Legislative Assembly as part of an investigation into the alleged existence of irregular places, according to the Public Ministry.
The fiscal investigation is developed due to the alleged existence of some positions that appear as employees of the respective state body, but which only collect salaries and extend to the persons who would have authorized these positions, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The head of the anti-corruption unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, German Arriaza, explained that the raid covers human resources management and financial administrative management. The search was made by order of the Fifth Magistrates’ Court of San Salvador, which authorized them to carry out the procedure.
PHOTO: This was the raid that FGR carried out in the Legislative Assembly to investigate the alleged irregular places
“We have a variety of evidence that allows us at this stage to request the authorization of the appropriate justice of the peace to make this registration, there are certain documentary and testimonial procedures that have been incorporated and that have allowed us to be authorized and therefore a we achieve “, said Arriaza.
Photo EDH / Francisco Rubio
With the search, it intends to put an end to the documentation and computer equipment that allow the FGR to obtain evidence in the investigation, Arriaza said.
By court order, prosecutors have 3 days to confiscate the documentation they consider important for the investigation of the so-called “ghost markets”.
“We are in the initial stage and we will collect all the information that will allow us to effectively determine if there are people who are employed in this institution and who do not carry out their work activities according to the requirements of the law,” said Arriaza.
The tax investigation is extended to establish “the possible existence of a crime and also to determine with the same investigation who or who participated in different functions in this fact and therefore to establish a certain type of responsibilities”, indicated the head of the anti-corruption unit of the Prosecutor’s Office.
With the raid, the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether those responsible for authorizing the alleged irregular places have committed crimes of embezzlement (embezzlement of state resources) and arbitrary acts.
He reported that, in addition to prosecutors, there are also IT technicians who participate in the register in the two areas where the employment of staff working in the various units is verified.
The order of the Prosecutor’s Office comes after the workers’ union of the Legislative Assembly (SITRAL) denounced the existence of over 1,200 phantom positions in the Legislative Body.
The head of the prosecutor’s anti-corruption unit, German Arriaza, reached the Legislative Assembly and explained the search warrant. Photo EDH / Francisco Rubio
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On Monday, Attorney General Raúl Melara said that an investigation has already been launched into the possible existence of irregular positions in the Legislative Assembly, adding that they “take very seriously” everything that affects the state.
“From the moment we found out that there are possible irregularities in the granting of ghost seats in the Legislative Assembly, we opened the corresponding file, an investigation is already underway. And not only do we have what appeared on social networks, but we also have statements from the members of the board of the Legislative Assembly who state in a way that this existed, for which we are already investigated and we will carry out due diligence. we consider necessary. to be able to find the truth, “Melara said.
Arriaza explained that “we will collect all the information that allows us to determine if there are people who are actually employed in this institution and who do not carry out their work activities according to the law”.
Prosecutors came to parliament to investigate alleged irregularities. Photo Legislative Assembly
What’s more: The attorney general says he will investigate “ghost places” in the Legislative Assembly
The tax investigation is extended to establish “the possible existence of a crime and also to determine, with the same investigation, who or who could have participated in different functions in this regard and therefore to establish a type of liability “, Said Arriaza.
For the time being, the General Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether those responsible for authorizing the alleged “ghost places” have committed crimes of embezzlement (embezzlement of state resources) and arbitrary acts.
Ponce denounces interests that prevented him from “cleaning the house”
Following last week’s union complaints, Congress President Mario Ponce explained that when he took over the administration of the Assembly, he found that many positions had already been held in previous administrations. He also mentioned that he tried to “put the house in order”, but could not because of the interests of the other parties.
He commented that he had issued a decree of voluntary retirement in which he offered compensation of up to $ 35,000, so that “all those who do not work at the institution or who are in excess at the institution leave. How many do you think applied in that decree? Only 14 people did not want to go, “he said. He added that when he took office, the former president of the Assembly, Norman Quijano from ARENA, left him” a complicated situation “.
There are 2,400 seats in the Legislative Assembly, of which about 1,100 are allocated to political parties.
On March 12, Ponce said that when he took over the presidency of the Assembly, as well as when Norman Quijano took over the presidency, they both found a large number of positions transferred from contracts in the Wages Act.
The President of the Assembly specifically referred to the period in which GANA MP Guillermo Gallegos held the position of Head of the Legislative Assembly, in the last year and a half of the legislature, from 2015 to 2018.
Mario Ponce took office in the Assembly in the second half of the current legislature. In the first year and a half, the Congress was led by deputy Norman Quijano, from ARENA, who received the property of the Parliament from the deputy Gallegos, who ended his term in April 2018.