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10 Nov 2005 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, November 10, 2005
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Fraud Network Amount
Surpasses $5 Million
An ongoing investigation by the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) into a national real estate fraud network revealed this week that local and international investors were taken for more than $5 million dollars worth of false property sales.
(Click for more)
U.S. Oil Company Files Suit
Against Costa Rican Government
The U.S. oil company Harken presented an administrative lawsuit in Costa Rica against the government, which withdrew a concession it had granted Harken for exploration and exploitation of oil resources, a source involved in the proceedings said yesterday.
(Click for more)
France Beats Costa Rica
in Soccer Friendly
France fought back from a 2-0 deficit to finally defeat Costa Rica 3-2, thanks to a final, accidental goal by Thierry Henry near the end of last night's friendly match, held on the Caribbean island of Martinique.
(Click for more)
November 10
Dengue Campaign in Escazú
Next Saturday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m.-noon, people of the community of Escazú will be launching an educational campaign and collecting non-traditional garbage to clean the area of the infamous dengue (Aedes Aegypti) mosquito. The volunteers will start in the neighborhoods of Avellana and Nuez, and later Bello Horizonte, Guachipelín, Trejos Montealegre and others.
Concert
The Escats are playing jazz pop tonight at 10 p.m. at the Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 253-8933.
Theater Encounter
Presenting the play “Uvieta,” a classic Costa Rican tale about a poor and merciful man who's visited by the Holy Family pretending to be beggars, who then give him as a reward a gift that leads to a series of funny situations, at 8 p.m., at the Melico Salazar Theater.
Edited By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Fraud Network Amount
Surpasses $5 Million
By Scott J. Krischke
Tico Times Staff
editorial@ticotimes.net
An ongoing investigation by the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) into a national real estate fraud network revealed this week that local and international investors were taken for more than $5 million dollars worth of false property sales.
“The quantity of money involved in this case is incalculable,” said José Brenes, the OIJ agent in charge of the investigation. “Almost every day, we see more and more people showing up to report false property transfers.”
The network, which was broken up by OIJ agents on Oct. 26, was made up of 23 people, including five licensed notaries, according to Brenes. As of yesterday, 13 people were under arrest as a result of the Oct. 26 raids. Six remain at large, and the OIJ lacks sufficient evidence on four other people suspected of being involved with the group.
The organization allegedly carried out the operation by finding properties whose owners were not occupying their homes, obtaining the necessary information about the property, falsifying property deeds and then selling the phony documents to investors.
At the time of the initial raids, the OIJ had listed 65 sites that were sold using false property documents to 14 people. According to the daily La Nación, one investor from the United States had purchased 35 properties from the group.
“This was a case in which the notaries had a direct involvement,” Brenes told The Tico Times. “Some of these people were well known in their circles. They had been notaries for over 30 years.”
The investigation into the total number of frauds will take about six months, Brenes said. Those charged in connection with the organization could face a maximum sentence of 33 years in jail.
See this week's print or online pdf edition of The Tico Times for the full story.
U.S. Oil Company Files Suit
Against Costa Rican Government
The U.S. oil company Harken presented an administrative lawsuit in Costa Rica against the government, which withdrew a concession it had granted Harken for exploration and exploitation of oil resources, a source involved in the proceedings said yesterday.
Mauricio Alvarez, spokesman for the Costa Rican Federation for Environmental Conservation (FECON), told ACAN-EFE that the company requested a proceeding Oct. 12 before the Financial Administrative and Civil Contention Court.
Harken seeks to nullify absolutely the government's withdrawal of the concession for oil exploration in the Caribbean Zone. The concession was withdrawn because of Harken incompliance related to the required environmental impact studies, Alvarez said.
The FECON spokesman said that a case of this type can last up to five years, and the Government Attorney's Office should be in charge of the government defense.
In addition to seeking to reinstate the concession, which was rescinded by presidential decree on Jan. 24, the lawsuit is seeking the government payment of damages and the cost of the legal process.
The presidential decree stated that the oil company did not present all of the necessary reports on the area under concession in the Caribbean area, and that Harken did not complete all the required environmental impact studies.
The company also did not renew the $300,000 compliance guarantee, which had to be maintained during the exploratory phase.
Harken Costa Rica Holdings LLC, subsidiary of the U.S. Harken Energy, received a 20-year concession to look for and exploit oil resources in the province of Limón, 188 kilometers northeast of San José.
However, the contract was criticized by environmental groups in the area and in 2002 the Technical Secretariat of the Environmental Ministry (SETENA) ruled found that the project was not viable because it affected the Caribbean natural ecosystem.
- ACAN-EFE
France Beats Costa Rica
in Soccer Friendly
France fought back from a 2-0 deficit to finally defeat Costa Rica 3-2, thanks to a final, accidental goal by Thierry Henry near the end of last night's friendly match, held on the Caribbean island of Martinique.
Star Costa Rican player Walter Centeno managed to get the ball past the backs of the French defenders to forward Alvaro Saborío, who had broken free and faced only the French goalie, Fabien Barthez. Saborío buried Costa Rica 's first goal in the 14th minute.
Then, to the surprise of the 20,000 fans in Dillon stadium, Dany Fonseca headed in a corner kick to put the underdog Costa Rica up 2-0.
And there they stayed. The 1998 World Cup champions were forced to run some risks in the second half, as French coach Rayomond Domenech pushed his lines forward to pressure the Central American challengers and quickly recover the ball.
France took the reins and Nicolás Anelka capitalized on a pass by Henry to give the French team his first goal after a three-year absence from the team.
Tico defense remained solid, but it could not withstand the French pressure, and in the 80th minute Djibril Cisse fired a medium-range shot that tied the two teams.
When it finally seemed that the game would end in a draw, Henry, in the 87th minute, accidentally hit the ball off his heel for a final goal, which gave France the victory in the first-ever game between the two nations.
The game was held in memory of the victims of an August airplane crash in Venezuela, the majority of whom were from Martinique. It was also the first time that the French national team played a game in Martinique.
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