In how many companies of Mr. Juan Carlos Bolaños do you participate, either as a member or a member of the board of directors?”
That was the first question asked on Monday night by the legislaror of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), Ottón Solís, to the wife of Chinese cement importer, Ana Laura Suárez de Bolaños.
She chose silence. She refused to testify before the special committee of the Legislative Assembly that investigates the cementazo case, supported by the guarantees provided by the Political Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
That was not the only question for which there was no answer.
In the brief exchange he had with Suarez, the legislator also asked the following questions:
– In which companies of Bolaños do you participate?
– Who has been in your house? If I tell you a list of names, to see who has been in your house…
– Do you make decisions in Veasa, the company that manages helicopters?
– Why do you refrain from testifying?
– What are you afraid of?
Suárez, who is a member of several boards of directors of Bolaños’ companies, refused to testify following recommendations by her lawyer, José Miguel Villalobos.
It seems to me that a lawyer who advises a person not to answer before a commission like this one is a bad lawyer, a lawyer who likes to hide the truth,”
said the lawmaker.
Solís said the lady wasn’t there for being Bolaño’s wife, but because she was a partner in several companies.
Suárez worked in the Protocol Office of the Presidential House in the administration of Abel Pacheco and is in charge of Ganadera La Lia, where she and her husband raise fine horses.
She has also been a partner and has worked in many of Bolaños’ companies, including JCB Distribuidora SA, Viajes Especiales Aéreos SA (owner of the helicopter used by several politicians), JCB Constructora y Alquiler SA, JCB Distribuidora SA, and Sinocem, the company that requested the $30 million credit to the Bank of Costa Rica (BCR) to import Chinese cement and of which she was the president until the beginning of 2017.