The Yappy app and ACH Transfers Create a Money Trail leading to Bernardo Meneses’s Accounts
Various financial institutions issued reports on the “large amount of income” that Meneses allegedly handled, identifying just over $406,000 deposited between 2021 and 2024. Cash-back assistance:
Since June 2023, the Public Ministry has been handling reports indicating that beneficiaries of financial aid made cash refunds to three bank accounts controlled by Bernardo “Nando” Meneses. The former director of the Institute for the Training and Use of Human Resources (Ifarhu) was arrested Monday July 7 amid an investigation for alleged unjustified enrichment and money laundering. Of that sum, 68% (just over $277,000) corresponds to funds received in cash, through bank transfers (ACH) and through the Yappy app, according to reports in the hands of investigators.
Tuesday Update: Bernardo Meneses appears before a judge for alleged money laundering and unjust enrichment. Meneses managed to hide his face when he arrived at the court offices by wearing a gray hooded coat
Bernardo Meneses, former director of the Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu), was arrested on Monday July 7 to appear in a pretrial hearing Tuesday July 8 for the alleged crimes of unjust enrichment and money laundering. The hearing is scheduled for noon this Tuesday at the offices of the First Judicial Office, in Plaza Ágora. Meneses managed to hide his face when he arrived at the court offices by wearing a gray hooded coat. In front of photographers and journalists, about 10 people tried to form a wall to protect him.
Among the attendees was fellow party member Balbina Herrera, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). The pretrial hearing is a key phase of the accusatory criminal justice system, during which a judge assesses whether the detainee’s rights have been respected and procedural safeguards have been met during the investigation phase, before the case proceeds to trial. According to reports from the Public Prosecutor’s Office since June 2023, beneficiaries of financial aid allegedly made refunds or cash returns to three bank accounts controlled by Meneses. Various financial institutions also issued reports of unusual transactions, highlighting the “large amount of income” the former official handled between 2021 and 2024.
Financial reports show deposits totaling more than $406,000, of which 68%—or approximately $277,000—comes from funds received in cash, ACH transfers, and payments via the Yappy app. According to authorities, Meneses failed to provide reasonable justification for the source of said income. Meneses’s arrest came after the Comptroller General’s Office forwarded a file to the Public Prosecutor’s Office documenting an alleged unjustified increase in the former official’s assets.
In other News, Court Revokes Ruling against Former MIDA Chief and Orders her Arrest for Corruption
The former head of the Fuel Supply and Control Section of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) suffered a legal setback after the Court of Appeals revoked her periodic reporting requirement and ordered her provisional detention. The decision came after a hearing requested by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which convinced the court of the seriousness of the case and the existence of sufficient evidence. A week ago, a judge had imposed precautionary measures on the former official: periodic reporting and a ban on leaving the country, after charging her with embezzlement. The criminal proceedings began after an investigation that determined a patrimonial injury to the State in the amount of 641 thousand 241 dollars.
