The RTA board approved the internal summary by the scandal that began with the withdrawal of bags with cash inside the state television channel. As reported in a statement, three of those involved were dismissed for cause and another was sanctioned with a ten-day suspension.
The event happened last March, when it was learned that they had retired a total of $ 11,400,000 in cash from the Public Television account to carry out the production of the project “Los amores prohibidos de Belgrano”, a miniseries that had been delayed by the pandemic.
Judge Luis Rodríguez was awarded the court case by lot and delegated the investigation to the prosecutor. Gerardo Pollicita. In November, the magistrate prosecuted Alejandro De La Torre -Deputy Director of Administration, Finance and Commercial Relations-, Claudio lamalta -Treasurer-, Guillermo Siaria —Director of the Administration, Finance, Commercial Relations Directorate—, Ernesto Molinero —Production Manager— and Ariel berliner —Deputy Manager of Production Management at UNC7- and Adriana Maestri, the provider benefited by the maneuver.
When he requested the prosecutions, the prosecutor Pollicita had indicated that “the questioned maneuver was aimed at ensuring the handling of cash, outside the limits provided for this type of operations at the state level, with a view to arbitrarily disposing of it and carrying out to carry out different expenditures presumably linked to the needs of the strip in question, which generated an undue profit by not having the proper authorization from the RTA SE Board or the approval of a budget to support them ”. On that occasion he had pointed out that As a result of the dissemination of the case, of the $ 11,400,000 that caused the controversy, the return of $ 8,089,083.88 was achieved.
The prosecutor had also explained that “the defendants, violating their duties and abusing the trust that had been placed in them as hierarchical officials of RTA SE, by extracting sums of money in cash from the company’s bank account and their subsequent use , bypassing the pertinent control mechanisms and the regulations that regulate action within the same, they harmed the public coffers assigned to RTA, in a clear benefit for themselves and for third parties ”.
Now the RTA board has finished the administrative investigation. “Understanding the seriousness of the accredited facts, the loss of confidence derived from the irregular acts, and the damage generated against the company, the corresponding sanctions were established, which in three of the cases led to a breakdown due to the employment relationship, and in the remaining to a suspension for ten days that includes the obligation to attend specific training activities. The sanctioned agents have already been duly notified, ”the agency reported in a statement.
The RTA board also highlighted that during the internal investigation “the right to defense of all those investigated was heard and guaranteed.” “The summary considered proven “having unduly departed from the procedures in force in RTA”, “having unnecessarily departed from the current fixed fund mechanism”, “the custody and administration of relevant sums of money in an area other than the Treasury” , and “the payment of a relevant sum of money without documentary support”, among other charges and as demonstrated “without the proper authorization of the RTA Board, or the approval of a budget to support it”says the same statement.
At the end, strikingly, the repercussion of the scandal in the media is questioned: “The Argentine Radio and Television authorities trust that the completion of the internal actions on this issue will contribute to overcoming a stage marked by media exposure to news of high negative impact, and it serves to strengthen the policy of transparency and integrity in the management of public resources that the company has been carrying out in the current management ”.
KEEP READING