The president of a Costa Rican company that sold reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies was found guilty by a federal jury in Richmond, Va., today for carrying out a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 2,000 victims throughout the United States and abroad.

Minor Vargas Calvo, 61, a citizen and resident of Costa Rica, is the majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity (PCI) Ltd., an insurance and reinsurance company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and doing business in Costa Rica.

A dual United States and Costa Rican citizen charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities was arrested today in Chicago following his indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami on Nov. 29, 2011, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today. Sean Rosales was arrested based on charges that he and his co-conspirators purported to sell beverage and greeting card business opportunities, including assistance in establishing, maintaining and operating such businesses. The charges in the indictment form part of the government’s continued nationwide crackdown on business opportunity fraud.

Sean Rosales pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to one count of an indictment pending against him, charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Kerry Michael Deevy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami to 13 counts of an indictment pending against him, including one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and nine counts of wire fraud.

Sean Rosales, a dual United States and Costa Rican citizen, was sentenced today in connection with a series of business opportunity fraud ventures based in Costa Rica, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.

Michael Kerry Deevy, a Canadian citizen, was sentenced today in connection with a series of business opportunity fraud ventures based in Costa Rica, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced. Beginning in 2006, Deevy and his co-conspirators in Costa Rica are alleged to have fraudulently induced purchasers in the U.S. to buy business opportunities from companies known as Cards-R-Us Inc., Premier Cards Inc. and Nation West. The business opportunities cost purchasers thousands of dollars each, with most paying at least $10,000. Today’s sentencing forms part of the government’s continued nationwide crackdown on business opportunity fraud.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that a federal grand jury in Anchorage, Alaska, returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging Michael D. Brandner, an Anchorage physician specializing in plastic surgery, on three counts of tax evasion.

A Wisconsin pharmacist and a Nevada pharmacologist were arraigned on an indictment today in Federal Court in Central Islip, New York, before United States Magistrate Judge Gary Brown. The defendants are charged with conspiring to supply at least four million misbranded and counterfeit pharmaceuticals to an illegal Internet pharmacy based in Costa Rica that catered to U.S. customers.

A dual United States-Costa Rican citizen pleaded guilty today for his role in a $1.88 million sweepstakes fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of elderly Americans.

Although activities that mess with local ecosystems to let humans experience nature usually seem intrusive, looking at the canopy face to face while slowly traveling in an aerial tram in the Costa Rican rainforest is a fairly

A venue which showcases and sells 100% locally produced design and artisan items while educating about sustainability and fair trade in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Has the Costa Rica Foreign Minister really just suggested that the Sea Shepherd founder might voluntarily go to Costa Rica to face trial?

Two ships of shark fin poachers have been stopped in the past two weeks, influenced by renewed government focus on the issue due to Paul Watson's case in Germany.

Exceptions will be made for subsistence hunting and fishing.

Hardly a secret anymore, but still off the beaten track a bit, Playa Guiones in Nosara, Costa Rica doesn't disappoint.

Though shark finning itself had already been banned, transportation and import of shark fins had not been.

A couple weeks ago, Jairo Mora Sandoval, a 26-year-old conservationist, was kidnapped by sea turtle poachers in Costa Rica. He was bound, beaten, and shot in the head. His body was found on the beach the next day.

"We don't want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way," says Costa Rica's Environmental Minister.

When you create a law to regulate something, there's always the danger that people will drive a truck through the loopholes, adhering to the letter of the law but not its spirit.

Prices have fallen 12% thanks to this switch to renewables.

The tropical country received almost all of its energy from a mix of renewable energy sources.

Fan(c)Fan is a creation by Marco Gallegos which challenges this product's typical scale and materials.

The social media-driven practice is harmful both to wild animals and selfie-takers themselves.

Costa Rica's Ministry of Finance has released a statement clarifying its decision to exclude a number of territories with low effective income tax rates from its list of non-cooperative territories.

Costa Rica's Ministry of Finance has released a statement clarifying its decision to exclude a number of territories with low effective income tax rates from its list of non-cooperative territories.

On November 12, 2019, a law was published in the official gazette of Costa Rica which ratifies the updated Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

Costa Rica's competition system underwent a peer review of its laws and regulations at the 2014 Latin American Competition Forum on 16-17 September 2014. The report was launched in San José on 4 December 2014 and provides a through insight into the current strengths and weakness of the Costa Rican competition regime.

This OECD report presents market studies practices in the six Latin America countries and provides areas for improvement on how to improve their legal and institutional set-up based on competition agencies’ practices.

Costa Rica has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD that was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

Rica has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the most comprehensive multilateral agreement available for tax-cooperation and exchange of information.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

On 17-18 November 2015, a new regional meeting as well as a governmental workshop on BEPS was held for the Latin America and the Caribbean region to discuss the outcomes of the BEPS Project, and the ways that the countries can explore to be involved on an equal footing in the implementation and the monitoring phase of the measures adopted.

Costa Rica has made significant economic and social progress over the last decades. Real GDP per capita continues to increase at rates which outperform many other Latin American and OECD countries. But while living standards and well-being have increased, tax reforms are essential now to ensure the sustainable development of Costa Rica’s economy, according to a new OECD report.

Costa Rica today became the 45th country to adhere to an OECD international investment instrument, designed to help the country attract more and better foreign investment and promote responsible business conduct.

Costa Rica adhered today to OECD legal instruments on Internet governance and international business conduct, demonstrating its willingness to align its policies to best practices in these areas and work together with the Organisation.

Costa Rica has taken an important step on the road to OECD membership by completing the process to become a member of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Costa Rica will become the 43rd Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 23rd July 2017, 60 days after the deposit of its instrument of accession.

This page contains all information relating to implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in Costa Rica.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

Costa Rica has made impressive economic, social and environmental progress, but further institutional and policy reforms will be necessary to ensure stronger and more inclusive growth, according to the first-ever OECD Economic Assessment of Costa Rica.

In the past 30 years Costa Rica has grown steadily and social indicators have improved markedly. Well-being indicators are comparable or even above the OECD average in several dimensions, such as health, environment or life-satisfaction. This paper reviews the social progress that Costa Rica has achieved and identifies reducing inequality and poverty as the main challenges.

Costa Rica’s economic, social and environmental achievements are impressive. It has succeeded in combining rising living standards, virtually universal health care, pension and primary education systems with sustainable use of natural resources.

Boosting national productivity to sustain the convergence process towards OECD countries living standards will hinge on creating the right conditions for domestic firms to thrive and become more innovative and productive, while maintaining the long-standing commitment to open international markets and investment.