Antioch
Caracol Radio learned of the complaint investors of the Ciudadela Victoria project, of Social Interest Housing in the municipality of Sopetrán, which They allege delay in their delivery, which was agreed for 2022. Furthermore, they exposed having been defrauded by not being able to claim money invested in the development of parking spaces and adaptations in homes that were not delivered.
The complainants report that, due to the delays, Several decided to abandon this project managed by the Sopetrán Social Interest Housing Consortium, VISS, and request the resources invested in the trust, which, they indicate, were returned. In addition to this, they warned that the company Real Estate Investment Banking SAS, BINM, who initially promoted the real estate project to them, He also offered them the construction of parking lots, terraces and adaptations which were paid, according to what they said, to personal and business accounts, and recorded in electronic invoices. When the complainants requested these resources upon withdrawing from the project, They alleged that they had no response or were told that due to debts that they had with the consortium, the money could not be returned.
In this regard, this was stated by Cándida Cosme, one of the people affected by the delays and the return of money for the additions to the project: “they brought out a project of social interest, they failed to comply and right now they don’t want to return the money to the people we gave the money to. They spent money on each other and didn’t finish a project. “That the houses are there, they lack too much, there are people who do not have electricity or water.”
Sergio Nicholls, another of the complainants of this situation, said this: “The discomfort arises because many of us acquired property in the Ciudadela Victoria project in the municipality of Sopetrán. Here we made the purchase and the deposits, not only for the apartments, but for parking spaces, for extensions. Due to delays in the project, people began to suspect and many of us complained directly to the project.”.
He added that due to the delays in the work, several people gave up on the project, and managed, although with delay, receive the money invested in the properties, otherwise with the additions offered by the BINM company: “The money that was consigned for the apartments to a trust, well, I personally was able to recover that, there are people who are still doing the management to be able to recover it. But to this BINM company, which abusively charged us for other concepts, such as parking spaces, such as apartment extensions, adaptations, because this company failed to comply and this company took ownership of these resources. and until now these resources are lost.”
The VISS version
Caracol Radio contacted the Sopetrán Social Interest Housing Consortium, through Jorge Pérez, its legal representative, to know their version about the reasons for the delays in the works and about the relationship of the VISS consortium with the BINM company. Mr. Pérez responded that the first delay factor It was the pandemic, which stopped the works, followed by the protests of 2021, which, as indicated, produced roadblocks and access to materials, such as steel, which increased their price and could not arrive at the project on time.
The second factor pointed out by the legal representative of the VISS consortium is the variation in housing subsidies generated by the national government’s measures. These are his words: “My home program was already suspended for more than 6 months to make changes, which stopped the allocation of new housing subsidies and their disbursement. This created difficulties for the applicants. As a result, problems arose in achieving financial closures, since banks did not approve mortgage loans due to payment capacity and others did not have the SISBEN qualification. Additionally, the government did not have the operational capacity to qualify people in the necessary time, which prevented financial closures. The fact that the project is private and the subsidy disbursements have not arrived in the stipulated time has affected us and contributed to further delays.”.
This is what Mr. Pérez explained about the relationship between the VISS consortium and the BINM company: “There was a contractual relationship and an agreement was signed for the commercialization of the real estate project Ciudadela Victoria, which included the promotion and sale of 356 housing units. However, the project decided to terminate this contract due to irregularities that arose during its execution”, referring to urban planning activities and installation of electrical networks, aqueduct and sewage.
Regarding the current status of this Social Interest Housing project in Sopetrán, this is what Mr. Jorge Pérez said: “The project at this moment It is in the deed phase of the homes that are already built and finished. At this moment there are 116 housing units that are already completely built and finished. Of these 116 housing units, more than 80 families have received their properties. We are currently managing the collection of subsidies. We hope to resume the execution of the project very soon, although it is important to note that we have not completely stopped our work.”.
BINM’s roles in the project according to the contract
Mr. Pérez supplied Caracol Radio the contract between the VISS consortium and BINM in 2021, which is signed by Mr. Jorge Pérez as representative of VISS, Mario Montoya as technical project manager and Yesica Múnera as legal representative of BINM, where it is specified that the functions of said company were the “promotion and sales of the project” and was prohibited from “using the knowledge acquired about the clientele for their own benefit.” For his part, Mr. Pérez denounced that more than 50 people have reported suspicions or complaints of fraud on the part of BINM, which, according to him, breached the contract by selling adaptations such as parking spaces and terraces to non-existent housing units, He requested money for the deed at the Notary’s Office, he transferred the money to private accounts. and not that of the project trustee.
When asked why he did not report this situation to the competent authorities, Mr. Perez said that when this situation became evident, in January of this year, the contract with the BINM company was terminated, specifying in a contract the faults already mentioned, among many more, and adding that said company received vehicles to finance the adaptations that they could not carry out, provided cash receipts with the VISS consortium logo that were not authorized, did not present management reports and did not pay social security for staff from March 2023. Said contract was also provided to Caracol Radio.
Legal representation
Caracol Radio consulted the legal representation of the company Real Estate Investment Banking SAS in the certificate of Existence and Legal Representation of the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia, which specifies that Maribel Montoya Calderón, who according to the complainants is the daughter of Mr. Mario Montoya, resigned on May 20 from said position in the organization and it is not specified who currently holds the position.
Links with other processes
Sergio Nicholls, one of the complainants, identified Mario Montoya as alleged leader of BINM and pointed him out as the architect of the alleged scam: “This BINM company with its leader Mario Montoya doesn’t give us much hope to be able to recover these resources since in other projects it has operated in the same way and has stolen these resources that so many people with the hope of being able to have their home because they have deposited in them.”
In accordance with the above, complainants sent Caracol Radio evidence that link the BINM company and Mr. Mario Montoya with alleged scams in real estate projects in municipalities of Antioquia. In one of these it is indicated that Mr. Montoya and Mrs. Sandra Milena Parra They were captured in 2019 by CTI agents for the crime of aggravated mass fraud in the municipality of Bello, information that was corroborated by the Prosecutor’s Office, who added that the defendants, apparently, were the legal representatives of a construction company that offered social interest apartments in a project called Parque Residencial La Manuela. This case is active in the database of the Oral Accusatory Criminal System.
The complainants provided the contact information of a person whom they identified as one of the alleged scammers. for the Heriberto Zapata Social Interest Housing project, in the municipality of Arboletes in Urabá Antioquia. In an interview, the person, who asked that his identity be protected and his voice altered, He indicated that BINM functioned as the project’s bank, and stated that after depositing an amount for the separation of the property, he had no further communication with the company and the works never began: “The project came to the town and it caught our attention because it had very good housing plans, so we did the process of separating the project with an investment of 2 million pesos. And supposedly the work would begin to open on a playing field and we did not have communication with the representatives again and nothing was heard from the construction company or anything.”.
Another case provided is that of Mr. William Villegas Escobar, who, according to his daughter María Eugenia Villegas, invested 20 million pesos for a Social Interest Housing in San Pedro de los Milagros in a work, according to what they indicated, was managed by Mr. Mario Montoya in 2017. Mrs. Villegas assured that they did not receive said house and Mr. Montoya offered them a home in the Ciudadela Victoria project in Sopetrán with the 20 million that had been invested. Mrs. María Eugenia indicated that the subsidies for financing said home They were not accepted due to the advanced age of Mr. William Villegas, and that the 20 million would be “stranded”: “My father spoke with Don Mario, Mario Montoya. He talked to my dad and he told him no, that he should not file a lawsuit, that he should not go to the Prosecutor’s Office, that he would return the 20 million, but in a trust. My father went and joined Comfama, the Comfama compensation fund, but after he was 75, my father no longer had the right to housing assistance. No, the money was not returned. And if it was returned, my dad had to lose I don’t know how much percent because he had breached the clauses. And I told him, what clauses? “if they were the ones who breached all the clauses”
The BINM version
Caracol Radio was contacted with Mr. Mario Montoya and Mrs. Maribel Montoya since May 22 of this year to know their version of the events, who requested a questionnaire for the preparation of a statement that would respond to the queries of the questions that require an answer. In this questionnaire, Caracol Radio consulted on the functions of BINM in the Ciudadela Victoria project, on the offer of adaptations, means and modes of collection of money for adjustments and the situation with its return. The reasons for the termination of the contract between BINM and the Sopetrán Social Interest Housing Consortium, the alleged related cases, the ties between Mr. Mario Montoya and the company Real Estate Investment Banking SAS were also questioned. and for alleged threats that Mrs. Maribel Montoya reported that she had been a victim. This questionnaire was delivered on Tuesday, June 4. The company indicated that the responses will be delivered on Tuesday, June 11, despite two weeks of knowing that Caracol Radio was looking for its version.
