But it was also used to pay for popularity polls, off-the-books bonuses to public officials, bribes, and political favors. These funds financed a lavish lifestyle for Funes and his family between 20, which included jet trips, jewelry, and luxury shopping in 29 different cities around the world. The payments appear in court records for a case known as “Public looting”, where the Attorney General’s office accuses Funes and 30 subordinates of the misappropriation of $351 million. 2011, in checks and direct deposits that originated in Banco Hipotecario accounts -the oldest of Salvadoran State banks- destined to manage the millionaire black budget, known as “54315 Reserved Expenses” or “discretionary expenses,” a secret budget line the Presidency handles since at least the early 90s. 2016, evading five cases of corruption and was granted Nicaraguan citizenship by Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship in July 2019. They were “handpicked”, according to Funes himself, who fled El Salvador in Sep. The payment responds to a secret contract for cooking and kitchen management at the Presidential House, awarded without following the procedures of the Purchases Law, which required a call for tenders. The company never reported officially the contract in its accounting and it is unclear if Castro and Sol paid taxes for the income. A private company owned by Ernesto Castro -president of the Legislative Assembly and one of the closest advisors to President Nayib Bukele- and his wife Michelle Sol -El Salvador’s minister of Housing- received a total of $504,000 from the black budget of the then President Mauricio Funes, between 20.
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