El juicio contra Ricardo Olivas Valle, extesorero del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR), entró en su etapa final con la solicitud de la Fiscalía de una condena que suma 396 años de prisión por el supuesto desfalco de ₡3,293 millones (USD 7.3 millones) sustraídos de las bóvedas de la sede central de la entidad, en San José.

La Fiscalía Adjunta de Probidad, Transparencia y Anticorrupción (Fapta) inició la presentación de sus conclusiones ante el Tribunal Penal, donde expondrá por qué considera que el exfuncionario es responsable de los hechos que se le atribuyen y solicitará formalmente la pena de cárcel.

Olivas Valle enfrenta una acusación por 33 delitos de peculado, uno por cada extracción de dinero que, según el Ministerio Público, habría realizado entre 2021 y 2023 aprovechando los últimos minutos de la jornada laboral y los momentos de menor vigilancia dentro de la institución.

De acuerdo con la investigación, las sustracciones ocurrían principalmente entre las 4:16 p. m. y las 5:29 p. m., cuando el movimiento dentro de las instalaciones disminuía. La Fiscalía sostiene que el extesorero aprovechaba supuestos fallos en los controles internos para retirar millones de colones de las bóvedas.

Durante el juicio fueron analizadas decenas de grabaciones de seguridad que, según la acusación, muestran al exfuncionario colocando fajos de billetes en sobres de manila amarillos para luego salir de la entidad pasando por los controles de seguridad.

El caso fue denominado “Gallo Tapado” por el Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) y la Fiscalía debido al presunto mecanismo utilizado para ocultar el origen del dinero.

Según la tesis acusatoria, Olivas habría utilizado parte de los fondos sustraídos para comprar diariamente grandes cantidades de fracciones y billetes de lotería de la Junta de Protección Social (JPS). Cuando resultaba ganador, el dinero era depositado en sus cuentas bancarias, lo que habría permitido introducir los recursos al sistema financiero aparentando que provenían de una fuente legítima.

Durante los allanamientos realizados en su vivienda, las autoridades encontraron cerca de 3,000 fracciones de lotería, como parte de las evidencias incorporadas al expediente judicial.

El Ministerio Público sostiene que la prueba presentada durante el debate demuestra la participación del exfuncionario en las extracciones de dinero y solicitó una condena acumulada de 396 años.

Sin embargo, aunque la sumatoria de penas supera ampliamente la normativa nacional, la eventual sentencia deberá ajustarse al límite máximo establecido por la legislación costarricense, que actualmente es de 36 años de prisión.

Además de la Fiscalía, en el proceso participan como partes acusadoras la Procuraduría General de la República y el Banco Nacional, institución que reclama los recursos supuestamente sustraídos.

Durante su declaración ante el Tribunal, Olivas Valle reconoció que tuvo problemas relacionados con los juegos de azar, aunque afirmó que su adicción estaba limitada a la compra de lotería.

“Tuve adicción a los juegos, en algún momento, a la lotería solamente”, declaró el exfuncionario, quien aseguró que tras ingresar a prisión en 2023 su problema estaba relacionado únicamente con “ganas de jugar”.

El extesorero negó que su conducta estuviera vinculada con otros tipos de apuestas y afirmó que compraba principalmente tiempos y monazos, mientras que la lotería la adquiría en menor cantidad.

La investigación también reveló presuntas debilidades en los mecanismos de supervisión interna del Banco Nacional.

Según la acusación, desde 2019 no se realizaban arqueos físicos exhaustivos en las bóvedas, situación que habría permitido que las supuestas sustracciones continuaran durante varios años sin ser detectadas.

Además de Olivas Valle, otras personas fueron incluidas en investigaciones separadas por posibles omisiones, incumplimiento de deberes o encubrimiento. Entre ellas figuran supervisores, contadores, personal de seguridad y exdirectivos jurídicos de la entidad.

El juicio continuará con la etapa de conclusiones de las partes y posteriormente el Tribunal Penal deberá definir la responsabilidad del exfuncionario y la eventual sentencia.

Victims held for six months in captivity at the hands of jihadi kidnappers in Nigeria detailed on Friday the harrowing conditions they were kept in after being liberated in what Nigerian officials are calling the largest rescue operation in the country’s history.

Nigerian forces rescued at least 308 victims from captivity in the past week, with the bulk of the victims coming from two distinct groups. 163 of the victims were taken from the Woro community in Nigeria’s Kwara State in a Feb. 3 raid that saw their jihadi kidnappers kill an additional 160 people in the Woro village.

The victims told the Associated Press that they believed they had been taken as punishment for refusing to accept and acquiesce to the religious preachings of the jihadis.

One woman, Hauwa Saliu, told the outlet that her captors constantly asked the victims if they had accepted jihad yet.

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«We prayed to God to help us go back home, but it never really crossed our minds that we were going to go back home,» she told the outlet.

Another victim, Amira Saliu, described the conditions in which the women and children were being kept, explaining that they were held in a forest near a river, and forced to put out fires and hide when they heard helicopters nearby.

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Saliu, a nurse, also explained how she had to help 10 women give birth with no medical equipment or sanitary gloves.

«I had no choice but to use my bare hands,» she told the outlet.

Women who were rescued after being held in a forest after they were abducted from the Woro community by gunmen in February receive medical attention at a hospital in Ilorin, Nigeria, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abubakar Khadijat)

Mary Ishaya, 44, told the outlet that the captives often went days without food and had to bury other captives who had died.

«I still cannot find the right words to describe what has happened to us. We saw death and suffering,» she said.

A woman who was rescued after being held in a forest after being abducted from the Woro community by gunmen in February receives medical attention at a hospital in Ilorin, Nigeria, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abubakar Khadijat)

The governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, told reporters during a news conference that 46 victims were being treated at a hospital.

«This is indeed, indeed a very sad situation. We’ve not yet come to terms with it. We’re still assessing the situation. As you can see, it’s just kids … children and women that are here today,» he said. «It’s truly a shame that this has happened.»

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The incident highlights the ongoing tensions between Nigeria’s militant Islamic insurgency in the north and the country’s large Christian population, who make up roughly 45% of Nigeria’s citizens.

On Christmas Day, President Donald Trump, in coordination with Nigeria’s government, authorized precision missile strikes on Islamic State-affiliated groups in northern Nigeria, citing the need to protect the country’s Christians.

US launches strike against ISIS in Nigeria. (Department of War via X)

The U.S. followed up in May, launching coordinated joint military action that reportedly resulted in the death of senior Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Mainuk.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shannon Taylor, now the Democratic nominee in the race for Virginia’s First Congressional district, once endorsed progressive prosecutorial blueprints, advocating for less incarceration and more diversity as a Henrico County commonwealth attorney — some of the same «Democratic values» that ended in tragedy in other parts of Virginia.

Shortly after coming into the role in 2012, Taylor fired seven prosecutors under her.

«I stated publicly that the office needs to have more diversity and I’m going to keep to that public statement,» Taylor said in an interview ahead of the firings.

Her track record is sparking criticism that she used her role to prioritize ideological and political views at the expense of public safety. It’s also clashing with portrayals from her campaign, highlighting her work as a tough-on-crime figure as she looks to win over a Republican-leaning district.

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Taylor highlighted her work as she topped a crowded field of Democratic candidates vying to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va.

«As Henrico’s top prosecutor for the last 14 years, Shannon has tried thousands of cases and put violent criminals, drug traffickers and abusers behind bars,» Taylor states on her campaign website. «She has a record of shutting down fraudsters trying to take advantage of working families and locking up violent criminals who threaten our safety.»

But that hasn’t always been the appearance she’s given.

After her seven firings, Taylor faced blowback for trying to hire a woman named Misty Whitehead as a police oversight prosecutor. However, before the role could be made official, social media posts from Whitehead surfaced that seemingly showed a pattern of attacking police.

Taylor faced backlash from the town’s county manager over her selected candidate.

«A county manager can’t tell a commonwealth’s attorney who to hire, but he can recommend whether or not local funds are included to supplement that salary. And in this case, I absolutely will not do it under any circumstances,» County Manager John Vithoulkas said at the time.

Whitehead had a history of voicing concerns about police behavior and social justice that raised concerns for at least one county official, according to local reports.

Taylor defended her pick, telling local outlets that she believed the posts were «thoughtful analysis of the current events we are all living through.»

Taylor also has ties to similarly-minded prosecutors in other counties — some of which entered the public eye recently due to tragic circumstances.

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Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a bus stop in Virginia. (Fox 5 DC)

In Fairfax County, Virginia, news broke that Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old illegal alien from Sierra Leone, stabbed a Virginia resident to death at a bus stop despite over 30 prior arrests and a known tendency for violent behavior.

Jalloh’s criminal record included charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny and firing a weapon.

Even so, prosecutor Steve Descano had dropped many of them, prompting concern and outrage from lawmakers.

«You dismissed the case, and it’s shameful,» Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C. said at a hearing where Descano was summoned to Congress to explain a series of similar cases.

Knott had been highlighting one such instance involving a child predator.

«When you dismiss a case, what happens to that defendant? He walks free. A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children, that you dismissed,» Knott said.

Long before Descano’s time in the spotlight, Taylor had endorsed Descano, supporting his bid to become county prosecutor in 2019, citing shared outlooks.

«I am excited to endorse Steve Descano for Fairfax County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney because I know he will prioritize the same Democratic values we all share, making Fairfax a safe and just place for everyone and I am looking forward to working with him,» Taylor wrote.

Taylor and Descano would go on to champion their shared values in a 2021 letter to the Biden Administration.

In it, the two joined 100 other district and county attorneys in championing a set of «21 principles for the 21st-Century prosecutor.» The authors claimed that «tough on crime policies» had been «anathema to justice,» championed an end to mandatory minimums and three-strike laws, advocated for taking immigration status into consideration when negotiating sentences and plea deals, and opposed calling rapists «rapists,» drug dealers «drug dealers,» and convicted criminals «felons» or «inmates.»

«A number of elected reform-minded prosecutors are boldly redefining what it means to be a prosecutor,» the letter states.

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Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, left, and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid, right, testify before Congress. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)

At least one Republican onlooker blasted Taylor’s record.

«She spent her time reshaping the prosecutor’s office around identity politics, pushing a far-left agenda that put woke activism ahead of public safety, and fighting to turn Virginia into a far-left hellscape,» Emma Hall, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

«Instead of prosecuting criminals and making Virginia safer, DEI queen Shannon Taylor chose to be a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant.»

Having secured the Democratic nomination, Taylor now heads to the general election on Nov. 3. Wittman, the district’s incumbent, last won re-election in 2024 in a 56.3% to 43.5% victory over Democratic challenger Leslie Mehta, an attorney.