Bicentenary banknotes: former BCB officials denounced for economic damage of Bs 4.5 million
Only 3.8% of one million commemorative banknotes were sold. The Vice-Ministry of Transparency filed a criminal complaint against former BCB executives.
Criminal complaint against former BCB executives over massive printing of commemorative banknotes
The Vice-Ministry of Transparency filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday before the Public Prosecutor's office against former officials of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), according to reporting by El Deber. The legal action targets alleged economic damage stemming from the printing of Bicentenary commemorative banknotes during the government of Luis Arce.
Vice-Minister of Transparency Yamil García explained that on 18 April 2024, the printing of one million commemorative banknotes was ordered at a cost exceeding 4.5 million bolivianos. The justification was that their sale would generate income for the Bolivian state.
A subsequent audit revealed that fewer than 4% of those notes were actually sold: precisely 3.8%. A report presented at García's press conference projected that, at the sales rate recorded in the first five months of 2026—an average of 270 notes per month—the remaining balance of 962,115 units would take approximately 297 years to sell.
García attributed the failure of the operation to the absence of any prior analysis: "No minimum technical or legal study was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the operation," the vice-minister stated.
Among those denounced are the former interim president of the BCB, Edwin Rojas Ulo, all members of the board at that time, and other former officials who held senior positions in the entity.
The complaint covers at least three offences, including "anti-economic conduct", on the grounds that there was executive responsibility that resulted in quantifiable economic damage to public resources. García specified that the legal action seeks not only to initiate proceedings and determine responsibilities, but also to secure annotation of assets that would allow the Bolivian state to recover the compromised funds.
Source: El Deber