Customs fines Barrick RD$950 million

LAS AMERICAS AIRPORT. The Directorate General of Customs reported yesterday that the Barick Gold mining company will have to pay the state the sum of RD$952 million in order to ship a load of electrum which the customs agency is holding since Wednesday of last week.

Likewise, the DGA director general, Fernando Fernandez, order a detailed review of the other 19 shipments carried out by the Canadian company via the cargo terminal at Punta Caucedo.

The administrator of Customs at Punta Caucedo, Wilson Acosta, reported that after going through the physical inspection yesterday, the authorities established that there were errors in the customs declaration by Barrick Gold, which is exploiting the gold and silver deposits at Pueblo Viejo, in Cotui.

Acosta said that as the mining company stated that the value of the detained shipment is US$11.6 million and that the company will be fined double this amount, US$23.2 million or in pesos, RD$952 million.

The official also indicated that besides the payment of the fine, the final decision regarding the detained shipment of gold and silver (electrum) is in the hands of the Director of Customs.

William Acosta sais that in the application of the double fine and the retention of the shipment, Customs is backed by Article 202 of Law 3489 which regulates the Customs Regime in this country.

Acosta also said that the customs authorities proved that Barrick incurred, likewise, in the bad declaration of origin of the shipment of gold and silver that the shipment was coming originating from the United States.

"But also, the mining company presented another declaration where it says that this was electrum when it is gold and silver," said the customs official.

The inspection

The process of the physical inspection of the shipment went on for two hours and 35 minutes. It bagan at 10:10 in the morning and ended at 12:45.

The Customs commission was headed by Gregorio Lora, the technical advisor of the agency, Eduardo Rodriguez, the deputy technical director, Jose Alfredo Tejeda and the Rear Admiral Guillen Sarante.

Barrick's opinion

For his part, the Communications and Public Relations Director for the mining company, Jorge Esteva, call the process of inspection of the shipment carried out by the authorities "inadequate and uncommon."

"I understand that the inspection of valuables in front of the television cameras lends itself to a lot of speculations," said Esteva, who was accompanied by Felix Caraballo, who is in charge of transportation for Barrick.

He said that he has never seen the authorities take videos of the vaults of banking institutions, such as the Central Bank, which handles and transfers lots of valuables to ports, airports and other places.