But, where will they take it from there? And might that audit already be unearthing that there were many hundreds more suspect payments hovering under the $10,000 threshold?
Jules Vasquez looked at the power matrix within the Ministry of Defence from 2020 to 2025:
Between 2020 and 2025, the leadership structure atop the Ministry of Defence was clear: Florencio Marin served as substantive Minister, Oscar Mira was Minister of State, Dario Tapia sat as CEO, and Salvador Alas managed the books as Financial Officer.
As Chief Executive Officer, Tapia was the official Accounting Officer - meaning he carried the ultimate responsibility to safeguard public funds, ensure accountability, and guarantee value for money.
Reports and messages we have seen indicate that Alas, as the Financial Officer had direct knowledge of the many hundreds, possibly thousands of sub-ten-thousand-dollar payments.
And while the blame could lie with Tapia or perhaps even be passed on to Alas, by directing the two former Ministers, Marin and Mira to take leave, the Prime Minister clearly believes there could be some taint of personal culpability, or direct influence.
We have seen the message from one senior public officer in the Ministry of Defence saying, "Minister Mira is the decision maker" - on the supply of certain items.
With Mira, it is clear: during his time at the Ministry: his family's businesses were major suppliers and service providers, receiving millions of dollars in payments for their services.
But, Mira was junior minister - they are usually fighting for scraps. And so the question tonight is, if his family's companies had over a thousand entries - then how many could plausibly be linked to Marin - since that mode of payment appeared to be the norm in this ministry?
The PM is concerned about companies like Kukulcan and others which may be connected to Marin - and based on tender documents leaked to us in 2023-2024, Kukulcan was among the top suppliers.
Based on analysis of documents we know that Kukulcan was not the most affordable provider of vegetables.
We are also looking into the ownership of those other companies who were top suppliers.
The Prime Minister is also likely concerned about the price paid for these Atlama boots which were bought for one to $200 more than the best available local price - according to our sources.
