To a scam of hundreds of millions of dollars that caused the bankruptcy of a bank in Bolivia, has been added a violent and mysterious death. On Saturday night, the liquidator of the Bolivian bank Fassil, Carlos Colodro, was found dead on a street in the eastern city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra after, it is supposed, falling 14 floors from the office he was temporarily occupying in one of the bank's buildings. The main hypothesis of the police is that of suicide, as it has transpired, but there are other theories about what happened, since his task as auditor of the bank in liquidation was affecting powerful economic interests.
The autopsy established that he died of "polytrauma and traumatic shock," Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said at a press conference. The lawyer of the family of the deceased, Jorge Valda, revealed that the body did not have an eyeball or one of the testicles and "did not rule out" that he had been murdered. "There were puncture wounds on his arms, back and whole body," he told the media. He explained that on Saturday, Mother's Day in Bolivia, Colodro had had lunch with his family, with whom he had a "normal talk" and, around five in the afternoon, had gone to work at the building in front of which his body was found hours later.
A farewell letter Colodro allegedly wrote was partially leaked on social media. "The corresponding expertise must be carried out to corroborate the veracity of the letter and the alleged motives that would have led him to sign the letter," Minister Castillo told the press. The official promised that all necessary investigations will be carried out to clarify what happened. The handwritten letter reads: "They deceived me, turned their backs on me, killed me. The time has come to say enough to this hell that I had to live since April 26 (the day he was nominated as auditor of the bank), a month that seems like 100 years of suffering. " He then implies that he has made a decision that he does not want anyone to consider "cowardice."
We send our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Brother Carlos Alberto Colodro, who was serving as auditor of Banco Fassil.
His death leaves us dismayed, we demand a prompt investigation to clarify the causes of this fact. pic.twitter.com/HfUbJhBuYJ
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) May 28, 2023
Carlos Colodro had a long career at the Central Bank of Bolivia and in banking supervision. Fassil's intervention was his biggest professional challenge, due to the size of the bank, the fourth largest deposit bank in the country, and the controversial origin of its bankruptcy just over a month ago. After his appointment, it was leaked that the Santa Cruz Financial Group, owner of Fassil, lent money from the bank to different Santa Cruz businessmen and asked them in exchange for bribes of a percentage of the loan (usually five million dollars) that were deposited in their accounts, supposedly for "real estate investments". In some cases, this money was used to buy small batches of shares of the bank.
A journalist covering the case announces he is leaving the country
Fassil shareholders also owned the company Santa Cruz Inversiones en Bienes Raíces (SIBRA), which became one of the main operators of the urban market in the Santa Cruz capital. It is alleged that both SIBRA and the bank itself bought real estate with depositors' money, in exchange for overpricing and bribes. The financial gap would amount to more than 600 million dollars, which will have to be covered by the Saver Insurance created by the country for these cases. Some important Santa Cruz businessmen were involved in these operations. At the same time, the bank's ownership group includes some of the most prominent families in this region, which is Bolivia's most prosperous.
The journalist who made most of the revelations about this case, Junior Arias, announced on his social networks that he had decided to "leave the country for a while until the death of Fassil's auditor is clarified." He added: "I, like many people, do not believe that he committed suicide, but that he was doing his job in relation to this case and discovering perhaps more than we know so far."
The news shocked the country and unleashed a flood of speculation about what really happened to Carlos Colodro. President Luis Arce expressed his condolences to his family on Twitter. "We demand a prompt investigation to clarify the causes of this fact," he wrote.
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