Martha Carolina Recinos De Bernal (Recinos) is alleged to have directed a multiple-ministry, multi-million-dollar corruption scheme involving suspicious acquisitions in the construction of a hospital. She is believed to have directed various government ministers to authorize several suspicious pandemic-related purchases including millions of dollars in surgical masks and millions more on hospital gowns from companies with no apparent ties to the healthcare or manufacturing industries.
During the Salvadorian government’s COVID-19 response efforts in the summer of 2021, officials awarded millions of dollars in inflated contracts related to pandemic relief. Recinos allegedly resold donated personal protective equipment and other medical aid at significant markups. It is also believed that Recinos organized a corruption scheme through which government funded food baskets intended for COVID-19 relief were instead diverted for the use of Nuevas Ideas candidates to garner support and get votes in the February 2021 municipal and legislative elections. [1] [2] [3]
Information
| IDENTIFYING INFORMATION | Chief of Staff to President Nayib Bukele |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 25.01.1964 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | El Salvador |
| NATIONALITY | El Salvador |
| COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE | El Salvador |
| ALIASES | Carolina Recinos |
| FAMILY MEMBERS | Efren Arnoldo Bernal Chevez - husband German Alfredo Bernal Recinos - son |
| FAMILY MEMBERS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS | None |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS FROZEN OR CONFISCATED | Unknown |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS RETURNED | None |
| SANCTIONS IMPOSED | US Global Magnitsky Sanctions. [1] |
| START OF SANCTIONS | 12.09.2021 [1] |