A complaint for the possible crime of non-compliance with duties on a continuous basis was filed against former prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche due to the lack of progress in the investigation of the Sputnik V case, a vaccine purchase valued at around Q600 million and which maintains more than 4 million expired doses stored in a warehouse of the Ministry of Health.
During a press conference, deputy José Chic confirmed the complaint and said that it is based on what he described as a deficient investigation and a malicious delay in the investigations carried out when Curruchiche headed the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI).
“We have filed a complaint against Mr. Rafael Curruchiche, former prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI), of the Public Ministry (MP), for the crime of breach of duties, this product of the poor investigation and the malicious delay in the investigations related to the Sputnik vaccine case,” stated the legislator.
According to Chic, the State acquired around Q600 million in anticovid 19 Sputnik V vaccines in 2021, corresponding to components one and two. He added that since that same year there has been a complaint related to the purchase process.
The deputy pointed out that the FECI carried out an investigation for several years without conclusive results and recalled that in February 2024 it presented a new complaint related to the case.
“We are talking about the FECI prosecutor’s office being there for around five years, a first complaint without results yet. And in 2024, in February 2024, I presented a new complaint related to this case of the Sputnik vaccine,” he said.
Likewise, he questioned the decision to keep parts of the file confidential during the investigation.
Chic indicated that he hopes that the authorities carry out the corresponding procedures and determine responsibilities in the case. He also mentioned former Health Minister María Amelia Flores González, former President Alejandro Giammattei and former Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo among the people who, he said, should be investigated for the facts related to the acquisition of the vaccines.
Curruchiche was separated from the FECI leadership after the arrival of the new attorney general, Gabriel García Luna.
Investigation
On March 27, when he was still directing the FECI, Curruchiche offered details about the investigation related to the purchase of the Sputnik V vaccines and assured that there were more officials under investigation.
According to the then head of the prosecutor’s office, the FECI analyzed 14 complaints presented by deputies, the Comptroller General of Accounts, citizens and an ex officio investigation derived from journalistic publications. In addition, it reviewed applicable regulations, contracts signed with Russia and emails related to the acquisition of the doses.
Curruchiche indicated that among the people mentioned in the investigation were former President Alejandro Giammattei, Miguel Martínez, former director of the Government Center, and other actors linked to the purchase process.
He explained that the investigations initially focused on four people, against whom arrest warrants were requested, while investigations continued into other possible parties.
When asked about the absence of direct actions against Giammattei or Martínez, he stated that no solid and compelling evidence was obtained to support an accusation. As explained, former minister María Amelia Flores González made reference to meetings related to the process, but did not provide sufficient evidence during her formal statement.
He also pointed out that Giammattei maintains the right to pretrial due to his capacity as a member of the Central American Parliament, so any action would depend on the corresponding legal situation.
Curruchiche maintained that the file had already been prosecuted and that there were elements to continue with new investigation proceedings.
He added that former members of the Presidential Commission for Attention to the Covid-19 Emergency (Coprecovid) were also under investigation, including its former director Edwin Asturias, as well as any other person who had participated in the vaccine acquisition process.
Arrest warrants
A day before providing those details, Curruchiche reported that arrest warrants had been issued against four former officials:
- María Amelia Flores González, former Minister of Health, for the crimes of ideological falsehood, embezzlement, breach of duties and abuse of authority.
- Nancy Pezzarossi, former vice minister of Health, for abuse of authority.
- Rommel Noguera Ávila, former financial chief of the Ministry of Health, for abuse of authority.
- Érick Delgado Urbina, for abuse of authority.
As explained, the Fourth Court B of First Criminal Instance authorized the arrest warrants, although it rejected the search requests raised by the prosecutor’s office.
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