Major Dominican Republic paper: Insurance chief ‘irregularly’ handled RD$111.8M

Santo Domingo.- One of An Dominican Republic’s leading newspapers affirmed Friday that an audit by the Accounts Chamber of the Insurance Superintendence during the election year of 2008 found various irregularities totalling RD$111.8 million, a figure which escalates the war of words between Diario Libre and the head of that agency, Euclides Gutierrez.

“As reflected in the audit practiced during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2008, and whose final report was approved on March 20, 2014, accounting deviations were incurred in social aid, contributions and donations, works contracted without a call for tenders, and excessive payments were made on constructions, insurance and bonds for works,” the newspaper said.

“On the aid, the audit found that the entity (Insurance Superintendence) irregularly disbursed RD$65.0 million to individuals, nonprofit institutions, grants to conclude works and government agencies, whose practice the Accounts Chamber understands must be discontinued since it’s not related to the Insurance Superintendence,” it said.

The outlet said the Superintendence’s works, among them a school, police station, rural clinic, which it affirms cost as much as RD$33.2 million, “were assigned to one contractor without a call for tenders.”

Diario Libre adds that the audit found “excessive payments in those buildings totalling RD$10.0,” in which it “duplicity in disbursements were found,” and established differences compared with the works carried out. “Payments made to contractors by concept of insurance and bonds for such works, totalling RD$3.3 million weren’t justified.”