Ex-PAN director in court for 1st of 12 prosecutions

RAFAEL GUARDIA JAÉN, the former director of the National Assistance Program (PAN) arrived in handcuffs and under heavy guard on Thursday, October 9  to face the first of 12 criminal prosecutions related to his time in office.

The first trial is for  alleged irregularities in the purchase of tire rims.

During the investigation, prosecutors detected anomalies in the purchase of 448 tire rims from a company owned by a friend of Guardia Jaén’s son. The company sold the rims to the PAN for $163,000, while it purchased them for $52,000.

Additionally, only 68 of the  rims have been found.

The former PAN director has been in custody since Nov. 17, last year.