A major financial misconduct scandal has emerged at a national immigration department, with authorities launching a formal criminal investigation and independent audit into $160,000 in unaccounted for public funds, the agency’s chief executive confirmed this week.
In an exclusive interview with local outlet News 5 on May 28, 2026, Immigration Ministry CEO Tanya Santos confirmed that the department had officially filed a police report over the missing funds and requested a full independent audit from the country’s national auditing body to unpack the full scope of the incident.
According to Santos, an internal preliminary inquiry into the irregularities was wrapped up last week, and executive branch leadership in the national Cabinet has already received a full briefing on the findings. The official escalation to law enforcement and audit officials this week marks the next formal phase of the process, she added.
Santos revealed that the preliminary review uncovered repeated incidents of what she characterized as clear criminal activity connected to the disappearance of the public funds. All documented evidence of these suspicious transactions and activities has been turned over to police investigators to allow for a full, independent deep dive into the case.
“Our team identified the specific suspicious activities and passed that information to law enforcement, so they can conduct a thorough, in-depth investigation and uncover all the details of what exactly took place,” Santos explained in the interview.
Currently, the investigation is centered on a single individual employed by the ministry, though Santos noted that the scope of the probe could expand as new evidence emerges. “Right now, the focus is on one person, but that could change if the investigation leads us elsewhere,” she said, leaving open the possibility that more people could be implicated as the inquiry progresses.
The news comes amid ongoing local political activity, with a city hall leadership transition dominating other trending local political stories in the region this week.