Corruption: Officials simulated payments for more than a million pesos
<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">It was the International Finance Unit (IFU) Mendoza. According to the Court of Auditors, they simulated payments to the internal revenue service (AFIP) as well as to providers for a profit of $1,075,627. They transferred the alleged payments to a wrongful account that did not correspond to accounting and then issued checks without the necessary documentation. Consequently, the watchdog filed charges to the people involved.</span></p> <div> </div>
In December of last year, the Auditor’s Court of the state of Mendoza reopened every accountability issue throughout 2008 and 2009 of the International Finance Unit (IFU). This time, the auditors found "hidden operations for unlawful concealment of funds."
Since the new revision of the account, the Court found "simulated payments" to AFIP, the Revenue Department (DGR) and providers Aguapark SA and Construcciones del Valle SA totaling $1,075,627.80 pesos. The counterfeit payments were to AFIP, especially for withholding income tax or not complying with the necessary social security issues, to the DGR for withholding income tax payments, and suppliers that were paid with "no description of the concept or receipted invoice".
To generate payments to AFIP and the DGR, the registration procedure requires they be enlisted in the accounting system (SODIUM) through the account "Withheld Taxes." In the next stage the members of UFI must print the payments and sign them, but in this particular case, because the disbursements were not legitimate, the money was being transferred into a wrongful account: ´Heritage Variations.´ Therefore, the orders "were only recorded in digital format" without proof or printed signatures attesting to their validity.
According to the auditors, the fact that money was being transferred to an unrequited account constitutes a "deviation from the requirements of the accounting system to hide information regarding this account.”
Also, this report approved in 2012 states that payments must be made by bank transfer, but were actually done by "issuing checks." According to the auditors, the department found that "the person who deposited the checks was the Treasurer’s spouse."
Because of these acts of corruption, the federal watchdog decided to press "solidarity charges" in the amount of more than a million pesos plus interest compensatory to different officials.
The "responsibles for solidarity liability" were: the treasurer Marcelo O. Martorell ($917,675.49), the Director of Administration, Florinda Maria Rubio ($373,742.62), the assistant treasurer, Federico Acuña ($709,986.34) and the general accountant, Maria Soledad Pastrana ($1,253,919.21).
The Court clarified that "the responsibility rests on the signatures of every check." This means that "in the absence of payment orders or other documentation, the signatories of the checks are held responsible for the outflow of unjustified funds."
Nothing new
This is not the first time the Court has pressed charges on María Florencia Rubio and Maria Soledad Pastrana. In 2010 the agency had fined them because the UFI bought a high priced car and the bidding process was "directed" to a single bidding company. In addition, this irregularity was detected during the 2008 administration.
The Court also found that there was no documentation to demonstrate the effective delivery of maintenance service which paid $145,200 per unit, and because of this data, they were asked to open another file as to submit papers that would justify spending "under penalty of solidarity charge or penalty applied."
In addition, two bills adding to $145,200, did not "pay income tax, nor Social Security payments," which, according to the ruling, amounted to a total of $4,800.”
The charges that time totaled $500 each. This time, the charge rose to $ 373,742.62 for Rubio and $ 1,253,919.21 for Pastrana. To all of this, we must also add that all charges were made during the same year.