Corruption Scandal
President Manuel Zelaya appointed his nephewMarcelo Chimirri as deputy president of the state-owned Hondutel.
FBI Criminal Division's Fraud Section revealed that Latin Node Inc., an American company, had illegal dealings with Hondutel executives The affair was later reported in the Honduran media. Marcelo Chimirri unsuccessfully sued journalists for libel that had published the corruption scandal.
An unknown individual posted various recordings of high government officials on YouTube, possibly implicating them in a corruption scandal concerning Hondutel. After Zelaya made a complaint to the police, they launched an investigation to find who had made the recordings which are considered espionage and a violation of Honduras' privacy laws. The investigation included searching the home of Marcelo Chimirri and both his office at Hondutel and those of other members of staff, the former was an action condemned by Zelaya. On November 4. Marcelo Chimirri resigned from his post at Hondutel in January 2007. In January 2008 the United States embassy confirmed that Chimirri would not be allowed to enter the US.
In May 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decided to release the names of officials A, B, and C. Honduran investigators were going to visit the United States to seek evidence collected by the United States.
Apart from Chimirri Oscar Danilo Santos (the former manager of Hondutel), Jorge Rosa, and James Lagos are all charged in connection with allegedly committing crimes of abuse of authority, fraud and bribery having received bribes of 1.09 million U.S. dollars of an international carrier in exchange for Hondutel give them lower rates than other firms. While the auditor Julio Daniel Flores was charged for the lesser crime of violation of duties of officers.
In 2012, a Florida Corporation named Suncoast successfully sued Hondutel for Fraud in Suncoast Tech Corp. v. Hondutel. A judgment was awarded against Hondutel for fraud in the Federal Court, Southern District of Florida in excess of $900,000.
Read more about this topic: Hondutel
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