Another of the unresolved issues that Greg Ch'oc leaves behind in Tzalam's hand is the issue of more than 250,000 thousand dollars which was embezzled from the organization. As we've told you, the man who was supposed to be the prime suspect, was cleared in the Magistrate's Court.
Today, the outgoing Director told us that there is a civil claim pending against him, which they will file shortly:
Greg Ch'oc, former Executive Director - SATIIM
"We sought legal advice at the urgent of the board. Advice obtained from our legal counsel shows that the statute of limitation should not have applied in this case which is why the charges were dismissed because the charges should have been filed within 6 months. What we found is that this is a hybrid offence and does not carry the limitation. On the advice of our attorney and the claimant and the board of directors of SATIIM I wrote a letter to the acting Director of Public Persecution Mr. Cecil Ramirez asking them to respectfully reinstate those charges. We have not heard from the DPP. However simultaneously we have instructed as Ms. Tzalam said our attorney to initiate civil proceedings which I think in the next 2 weeks, as soon as the Supreme Court opens we will be filing claim at the Supreme Court level. The community and the board feels strongly, we have an obligation to our donors. We are trustees to the funds given to us and we have an obligation to ensure that we expend those funds in the manner that we've agreed with our donors and we take our responsibility strongly and hence those actions that have been initiated."
But, it's hard to look past the facts that several hundred thousand dollars, went missing, from an organization which depends on the donor community for funding. Today, we asked the executives about the assurance that they've given their donors in trying to ensure that there will not be a reoccurrence. Here's how they responded:
Greg Ch'oc, former Executive Director - SATIIM
"Those involved in the donor community, the philanthropic community, those that give to charities recognize and the enormous responsibility that an organization have, but likewise donors give because they have confident in your ability that you have the systems in place to account for those resources. That does not deny the fact that systems are as good as those individuals that are task to use those systems, so they understand the experience we've been through and what they have required of us is to learn from this experience but also to institute and strengthen our internal procedures and mechanism and that is what we have done."
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