Earthly Delights: Religious Groups and Money Laundering in Dominican Republic
CARIBBEAN
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10 MAY 2021 BY KATYA BLESZYNSKA
Millions of dollars in state funds were allegedly laundered through a religious non-profit in the Dominican Republic, showing how minimal oversight of these faith groups makes them ideal vehicles for embezzlement.
On May 10, security officials, a pastor and others suspected in the scheme were placed in preventative detention or under house arrest for 18 months as part of an ongoing investigation into charges of money laundering, falsifying public documents, fraud, and other offenses.
Among the accused is Adán Benoni Cáceres Silvestre, a military major general and former head of the country’s Presidential Security Corps (Cuerpo Especializado de Seguridad Presidencial – CUSEP).
Prosecutors allege that he used fraudulent payrolls and contacts to divert money from government institutions to the Mother Earth Farmers Association (Asociación Campesina Madre Tierra), a non-profit organization he formed in 2015 to foster Christian values through community farming, according to a court filing compiled by the Attorney General’s Office.
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Also accused is Rossy Maybelline Guzmán Sánchez, a pastor who allegedly created several companies used in the embezzlement scheme, according to the same investigation.
More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/earthly-delights-religious-non-profits-and-money-laundering-dominican-republic/
El Día
Pastora Rossy Guzmán
The Lord and the guy with the gun want you to turn over your life savings!