American Expatriate Costa Rica

Alunasa denies having used Costa Rica as a narco bridge for Chavismo

The Alunasa company denied having any links with the food programs that would have served as a bulkhead to transfer money from drug trafficking to Chavismo, through Costa Rica.

Through a statement sent on Wednesday, the company denied the information published over the weekend by the Spanish newspaper ABC in which it quotes an investigation by the US government in which the company is accused of receiving shipments of food program Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP) bound for Venezuela, in which money was supposedly hidden and then placed from Costa Rica in Russian accounts for Chavismo leaders.

According to the document, signed by their press officer Antonio Durán, this is false information that aims to damage the company’s reputation. They claim the company does not have any port terminal for its own use in Limón or any other port in Costa Rica, nor does it have customs records of the shipments mentioned in the publication.

Alunasa has not been a consignee of any shipment from Mexico with transfers. In fact, Puerto Limón is not enabled for these purposes, nor is it used by any shipping company as a transshipment point. Alunasa has never received or deposited cash for its transactions. There are no cash deposits made by Alunasa in any bank of the national banking system of Costa Rica,”

the company said.

The statement also rejects having had any business or other relationship with the company Sardinero Servicio SA.

According to ABC information, this Mexican company was the one that would have managed the food shipments to Venezuela, directly or through subsidiaries.

The company also denied that they made transfers to bank accounts in Russia.

The publication indicated that the company allegedly hid drugs in aluminum shipments, which was destined for the west coast of the United States.

The company did admit that there was a closing of accounts by the National Bank in May 2018, but this was due to the “usual reaction” by the bank to the bad-reputation risk generated by a “false publication similar to the one published this week by the Spanish newspaper ABC.”

By virtue of this, the Department of the Treasury of the United States, through the office of control of foreign assets (OFAC), proceeded to investigate the movements of the company. This investigation did not throw any accusation against Alunasa, which was informed by the OFAC itself through written communication. Likewise, the Costa Rican Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that there are no pending investigations in relation to Alunasa, which he reiterated today,”

added the aluminum company.
crhoy.com