Despite possible corruption charges, ARENA keeps Francisco Flores as Campaign Adviser
President of the National Executive Council of the ARENA party (COENA), Jorge Velado, confirmed yesterday that former president Francisco Flores remains part of the team of advisers in the campaign of ARENA’s presidential candidate, Norman Quijano, despite the fact that he is under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of El Salvador for a $10 million donation he received.
Government of Taiwan donated the money to El Salvador for reconstruction after the earthquake in 2001, but Francisco Flores is having trouble explaining what he did with the money he received.
The investigation points that Flores moved the $10 million back and forth, from Central America to Miami to the Bahamas, using various personal bank accounts. In the transactions, an electronic trail was created, that was later reported to the US Department of Treasury as a suspicious transaction.
An intelligence report was then issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a special unit to prevent money laundering and suspicious financial practices of the Department of Treasury of the United States.
The Office of the Attorney General received the report of FinCEN and started an investigation of its own. The possible charges Francisco Flores faces are money laundering, embezzlement and misappropriation.
Despite the possible charges, ARENA contradictorily has decided to keep Francisco Flores on the payroll as a top adviser in the Campaign.
