The Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) of Paraguay has forwarded an audit report to the Public Prosecutor's Office identifying 13 employees involved in irregularities within the academic degree registration system. According to Minister Luis Ramírez, these officials participated in the validation process of 330 diplomas under investigation. Additionally, 550 unauthorized users were detected who performed 130,000 suspicious actions within the system.
Ramírez explained that the irregular actions include access at unusual hours and the uploading of documents without authorization, but he ruled out an alleged hacking of the system. "These are acts that do not correspond to the normal functioning of the institution," he stated. The minister emphasized that the scheme operated without the knowledge of senior management, with mid-level directors approving the processes.
The case now involves 283 employees under administrative investigation, including nine directors. Some of the allegations involve the forgery of MEC resolutions used to validate diplomas in Brazil, according to an investigation initiated in April.
In the Senate, the special commission investigating the case, chaired by Senator Patrick Kemper, has expanded its requests for information to 20 educational institutions, including the Universidad Sudamericana—the subject of criticism for issuing the questionable degree of former senator Hernán Rivas. Kemper guaranteed impartiality in the investigation, which will have technical support from the Comptroller General's Office.
The university in question is among those that have not responded to the Legislature's inquiries. The commission is also awaiting a statement from the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court regarding progress in the criminal investigations.