QCOSTARICA — A week after the Prosecutor’s Office and the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) conducted more than 20 raids to uncover the alleged corruption case known as “Pista Oscura”, a judge established mild precautionary measures for all those involved.
Mauricio Batalla, former Minister of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), and all the other suspects are not barred from leaving the country, as they pose no flight risk. In all cases, they were only warned not to approach witnesses in the case.
The judicial decision was made this Monday by the judge of the Criminal Court of Finance and Public Service, who rejected the Prosecutor’s Office’s request to impose more restrictive measures on those under investigation. Among them, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested a ban on leaving the country, dismissal from office, the obligation to sign in once a month, and a ban on approaching witnesses.
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The Director of Civil Aviation, Marcos Castillo Masís, and the head of the Works Oversight Unit of the Comision Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) – National Emergency Commission (CNE), Henry Villalobos, are also under investigation, along with Alejandro Picado, president of the CNE, remained attached to the case without any precautionary measures.
The Pista Oscura case revolves around alleged irregularities in the repair of the runway at the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste.
The construction company Meco was originally awarded a project for approximately US$40 million, but the cost increased by US$4 million after a “value engineering” proposal by the company.
This technique allows for cost reduction by analyzing materials, processes, and designs, but in this case, according to the OIJ’s thesis, it was used to justify superficial resurfacing instead of a complete reconstruction.
The authorities’ thesis is that officials were pressured.
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