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A judge from the Dominican Republic has ruled that Oscar Arturo Chalas Guerrero, the former head of casinos and gambling, should be freed from prosecution because of an accepted “criterion of opportunity.” This criterion is effectively an acknowledged legal means of having criminal charges justified away on the basis of being provided with significant cooperation with prosecutors of considerable criminal charges. Chalas Guerrero has complied with this criterion by repaying 20 million pesos to the state and cooperating with an ongoing case against corruption concerning past ministers of the government.
This ruling came from Judge Altagracia Ramírez of the Fourth Instruction Court of the National District. She accepted a petition filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to the court, the former official’s testimony played a crucial role in shedding more light on the situation, including the role played by other high-ranking persons.
Assets Returned to the State
The deal also involved Chalas Guerrero voluntarily turning over 17 million pesos in official checks, as well as two pricey cars: an Audi Q7 and a Volvo XC90, worth about three million pesos. All the assets were duly deposited for the benefit of the Dominican State.
All the precautionary measures placed on the ex-regulator, including the ban on his traveling out of the country, were deemed sufficient by the court in consideration of the restitution made and the quality of the information delivered.
Allegations of an Illegal Gambling Scheme
When Chalas Guerrero was giving his testimony, he asserted that former Finance Minister Donald Guerrero knew about irregular charges mandated for betting shops operating illegally. According to Chalas Guerrero, these betting shops operating illegally were supposed to pay charges ranging from 3,000 to 6,500 pesos on a monthly basis to operate legally.
He told the court that because of the number of illegal betting houses involved, it was difficult for him to arrive at a total sum of money generated by this scam.
Claims of a “Mafia Structure”
Chalas Guerrero also reported a conversation he had with the Minister of Finance at the time, in which he expressed his frustration about what he called a “mafia structure” working within the system. The plan to break up this structure was allegedly accepted at first.
Nevertheless, he explained that as the revenue generated by the government in these operations reduced, the minister directed that the former arrangement be reinstated. In this regard, this means that as a result of this reversal, illegal payments were reinstated despite previous attempts to halt them.
The investigation that Chalas Guerrero participated in includes a number of prominent ex-officials. Apart from Donald Guerrero, other people who have been named in the case are ex-ministers Gonzalo Castillo and José Ramón Peralta. They are still being investigated by authorities regarding their involvement in the crime syndicate.
Legal Implications and Next Steps
With this development, all legal actions against Chalas Guerrero have been formally discontinued. Prosecutors made it clear that the agreement does not mean innocence but merely the value of his cooperation in improving other cases. The case focuses on the growing trend in the justice system of the Dominican Republic of using cooperation agreements to effectively untangle corruption cases, most of which involve illegal gambling and regulatory agencies.
Source: SBC Noticias
