SANTO DOMINGO.- According to the document presented on Saturday by the Public Ministry regarding the charges against the 14 individuals involved in Operation Larva, one of their main tactics consisted of investing the large sums of money obtained from drug trafficking activities in the real estate sector, acquiring "luxurious properties" in exclusive areas of the National District, Punta Cana and Santiago de los Caballeros.
Prosecutors cite that the properties do not correspond to the economic profile reported by the Social Security Treasury (TSS) and the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII), which is why they raised suspicions.
“They managed and used millions of dollars in sums of money, through multiple operations that did not withstand the scrutiny of the investigation and easily revealed that they came from drug trafficking,” the file states.
To achieve their goal, they used relatives of the network's main members, as well as shell companies. According to prosecutors, they acquired properties valued at over RD$500,000,000 through their companies.
“They created shell companies, established for the purpose of acquiring luxury properties, without these having any real operation,” the document says.
They also established a large number of companies under the same corporate name and address to " appear to society that they are people whose resources are legitimate."
In the file, the Public Prosecutor's Office specifies that these companies have no credit history or transactions in the financial sector, which indicates that the properties acquired through them were purchased "with the use of cash from money laundering.".
The alleged criminal network also carried out financial intermediation activities without being authorized by the Superintendency of Banks for these purposes, managing to avoid making reports to the authorities.
Another strategy was sending remittances between members of the organization , "as a way of circulating money through smurfing operations."
Text adapted from information published by Listín Diario.
