Hearing to hear indictments against former Health Secretary Arturo Bendanha and other former officials

Tegucigalpa – This Tuesday, the hearing on the defendants’ declaration will be held against former minister Arturo Bendanha, former civil court judge of the province Francisco Morazán, Carlos Octavio Rivas Sánchez and other officials accused of defrauding the state of more than 224 million lempiras.

The hearing will be held in the Organised Crime and Corruption Court.

The Public Ministry, through the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Transparency and Fight against Public Corruption (FETCCOP), filed a tax collection request against former officials of the Ministry of Health and representatives of commercial companies, alleging that they had engaged in irregular purchases of medicines, medical supplies, surgical equipment and laboratories, which had resulted in the defrauding of the Honduran State of more than 224 million lempiras (L.224,994,921.30).

The defendants are: Arturo Bendanha Pinel (Former Minister of Health), Miguel Ernesto Flores Cisneros, Moises Torres Lopez, Vinicio David Monterrosa Serra, Roberto Carlos Mesa Figueroa, Vanessa Maria Urbiso Escobar, Nelson Giovanni Alvarenga Rodriguez, Reynaldo Leyva Suazo and Carlos Octavio Rivas Sánchez.

All of them were charged with fraud, administrative malfeasance, forgery of official documents, violation of official duties, and concealment of crimes.

According to the investigation, between 2010 and 2012, former officials and unscrupulous businessmen used fraudulent contracts, rigged bids and a non-existent number called “excess financing” (as if obtaining a credit card) to commit crimes against the public health of Hondurans. The request also states that part of the fraudulent amount was provided by the resolutions in favor of the companies by former judge Carlos Octavio Rivas Sánchez after a compulsory lawsuit against the State, supported by false minutes and manipulated reports.

The elaborate scheme of this corrupt network, revealed today by lawmakers, deprived thousands of Hondurans of medicines and medical supplies. Compatriots forced to travel long distances and with limited economic resources faced the harsh reality of shortages in hospital centers; returning home feeling disappointed, betrayed and abandoned by a health system that, instead of protecting them, in many cases sentenced them to death.