The National Audit Office determined that the funds ‘allocated’ to earthquake victims were used in other areas

The finding of stored aid kits, expired donations or unjustified expenditures are some of the novelties the National Audit Office found in seven state agencies after the earthquake occurred in 2016.

The report examined the spending of USD 45.59 million transferred by the Ministry of Finance to six other state agencies between April 16 and July 21, 2016.

The highest unjustified sum is USD 6.3 million allocated by the Ministry of Defense to the Armed Forces. That money came from a Contingent Loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), that became effective after the earthquake.

However, the Armed Forces made seven transfers totaling USD 6.2 million to purchase goods for vehicle maintenance, search and rescue equipment, combat food rations, among others. These expenses, according to the auditors, should not have been made with IDB money.

The Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES), which administered the aid to victims from 16 to 21 April 2016, also appears in the report. The first observation is that the donations for those affected were not recorded in the minutes. This department is also responsible for the purchase of food kits and supplies for USD 7.7 million, through 15 contracts. The authorities of the MIES could not justify the purchase of these aids or their distribution.

72,176 food kits were also found stuck three months after the tragedy and kits, about to expire, in inadequate spaces (I).