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HomeTopicsCrimeCosta Rican Party Faces Scandal Over Alleged Lottery Laundering Links

Costa Rican Party Faces Scandal Over Alleged Lottery Laundering Links

The leadership of the National Democratic Agenda (ADN) party dismissed the entire executive committee of that group in Guatuso after learning of its members’ alleged links to the “Tómbola case,” which investigates the alleged laundering of money through the sale of legal and illegal lottery tickets.

Omar Jiménez, president of the group, recently signed a coalition agreement with the PAC ahead of the 2026 presidential elections. PAC and ADN formed a coalition to bring Claudia Dobles, former First Lady under Carlos Alvarado’s government, to power in the upcoming 2026 elections.

“We found out last night, and this morning we met with the Executive Committee and decided to inform the court of our decision to remove them immediately,” he explained. Two sisters with the last name Acuña Morera, who are accused in the case, appear on that committee, along with their relatives and other detainees.

“It is important to clarify that the cantonal assembly where they were elected was held virtually in 2021, so I do not have exact knowledge of the individuals. I have never personally interacted with them, and it was only yesterday that we learned of the situation,” Jiménez said.

Jiménez stated that, additionally, after the cantonal assembly in which they participated, there has been no activity on their part in the party; they are not part of any other structure, neither provincial nor national, and they have had no activity, meeting, or anything similar. According to Jiménez, they have never made any financial contribution or anything else.

Omas Jiménez also clarified there has not been a single meeting of that executive committee in Guatuso since they were elected.

The order to remove these individuals, which, according to the party president, was to reach the Supreme Electoral Tribunal today, includes their delegates, although Jiménez specified that of the five, four had already left, and only one person remained in office, specifically one of those accused in the case.

The president of ADN argued that at the time they were elected, none of the people who made up the cantonal committee had any criminal records. “These people in 2021 had no legal proceedings against them, no criminal records, and there was no evidence to suggest the activities they were involved in,” Jiménez added.

He explained that on the date of the assembly, there is no history or anything that “allows us to have any suspicion.”

 “What I believe, realizing today, is that there has indeed been an increase in organized crime in the country, which puts any political, religious, or community organization at risk of being infiltrated. What we think is that the right thing to do is to set a precedent for how to act when one becomes aware of this, preventing any infiltration and any participation by this type of person,” he concluded.

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