Redacción Scam against Fosvoc: SUNCA and the Communist Party are sinking
Diverio and Andrade on the brink of the abyss, Castillo and Frente Amplio under scrutiny
A recent internal audit revealed that the fraudulent maneuvers did not begin in 2024, but in 2018.
The scandal over the fraud against the Social Housing Fund for Construction Workers (Fosvoc) has entered its murkiest phase. This new information considerably extends the criminal period: more people involved, more corruption.
Communist deputy Daniel Diverio is directly implicated, left with no escape: he allegedly signed at least a dozen checks that were cashed by Bruno Bertolio, who is now convicted of corruption and fraud along with two other union leaders from the Communist Party of Uruguay (PCU): Santiago Bernaola and Víctor Rivero.
Very good campaign by the Communist Party.
Prosecutor Gilberto Rodríguez's hypothesis is forceful: part of the money was allegedly diverted to finance the political activity of SUNCA and PCU, including the 2024 and 2025 electoral campaigns.
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If proven, the scheme would include identity theft, forgery of beneficiaries, and even purchases of real estate and vehicles in the names of front men.
The audit also detected loans that were collected in cash but never reached the supposed worker applicants.
More than 35,000,000 pesos (77,162 pounds) and 17,500 dollars were stolen.
The 193 illicit transfers were discovered by an employee who was substituting for Stella Rey, who managed the workers' Housing Fund accounts with total freedom.
What was the money spent on? High-end cell phones and televisions, washing machines, blenders, dog food... and even a sexual stimulator.
It is currently being investigated whether Rey offered to return part of the money to reduce her sentence.
Diverio, Andrade, and Alberti: the names that trouble Frente Amplio
The convicted former unionists directly pointed to Óscar Andrade and Daniel Diverio, stating that "it was impossible for them not to know" about the irregular maneuvers, and even claimed that both benefited from them.
In response, the communist senator called his former colleagues "lumpen" and for his defense, Andrade turned to the renowned and expensive lawyer Gonzalo Fernández, former minister of Tabaré Vázquez.
On June 11, Bruno Bertolio stated that the leadership of SUNCA —Richard Ferreira and Javier Díaz— received diverted funds so that Andrade and Diverio could reach Parliament.
He also implicated Laura Alberti, finance secretary of SUNCA and PCU, as a key figure in the financial logistics of the diversion. She has already been questioned by the Prosecutor's Office and could be called again in August.
Money laundering, front men, and false financial statements
Senaclaft, the National Secretariat for the Fight against Money Laundering, is conducting a parallel investigation into the finances of SUNCA and PCU. Accounting information has already been requested to verify whether the diverted funds appear in their financial statements or were deliberately concealed.
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If it is confirmed that they violated anti-money laundering regulations, they will not only face severe administrative sanctions, but also criminal consequences.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office continues to track purchases of vehicles and real estate in the names of third parties. It is estimated that at least 12 more people are being investigated. Rodríguez publicly stated that the evidence points "quite solidly" to a criminal structure whose purpose was to sustain the political machinery of the Communist Party.
The shadow of Juan Castillo over the SUNCA fraud
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The current Minister of Labor, a unionist by profession and former secretary of PCU, vigorously defended the unionists involved and disqualified the Prosecutor's Office.
Castillo's labeling of the complaints as "reckless" is an attempt to protect those responsible, instead of siding with the defrauded workers.
His reaction seeks to halt an investigation that could implicate the party and his own administration, since the fraud once again devastates the new Frente Amplio government.
Castillo, known for defending dictator Nicolás Maduro, is getting closer and closer to the corrupt network currently under investigation.
August: decisive month for national democracy
With the judicial recess over, prosecutor Gilberto Rodríguez will begin a new and decisive round of summonses that will test the independence of the Judiciary in Uruguay.
Dozens of unionists linked to the Communist Party will be called to testify before the Judiciary to clarify the fate of millions of pesos (2,204,623 pounds) diverted from Fosvoc and identify all the corrupt individuals.
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Senator Óscar Andrade and deputy Daniel Diverio can no longer evade the evidence: they are fully implicated in what is probably the most serious political-union corruption structure in recent times in Uruguay.
August will be crucial: it will show whether the Judiciary dares to get to the bottom of the matter —no matter who falls— or if, as in 2009 with the death of Eduardo Javier Gómez Canon, it will once again become evident that there are limits that can't be crossed and that the independence of the branches of government in Uruguay doesn't exist.
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