Dominican President Luis Abinader announced on Thursday night that results from audits conducted by the Comptroller General of the Republic will begin to be published on October 1.
The announcement came two days after national newspaper Diario Libre revealed that the audit reports were being kept from public view and that the auditing body had refused requests to release them.
In a brief note, Abinader stated that audit documents covering the first four years of his presidency, from August 2020 to August 2024, will be disclosed progressively as the audit body completes and submits each report.
Luis Abinader took office as President of the Dominican Republic in August 2020. The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation of more than 11 million people occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The Comptroller General of the Republic serves as the primary internal financial control agency of the Dominican state, charged with monitoring government expenditure, evaluating administrative processes, and inspecting state institutions from within the executive branch.
Media investigation prompts executive action
Diario Libre, a major daily newspaper headquartered in Santo Domingo, reported earlier in the week that the Comptroller General had turned down public requests for completed audits. The auditing agency argued at the time that it had no legal obligation to make the reports public and noted that the documents remained subject to official approval by the Executive Branch.
Under the new directive, the Executive Branch assumes direct responsibility for making the documents public. The decision removes the administrative barrier that the Comptroller General had identified as the condition preventing the release of the audits.
Distinction between internal control and external oversight
Abinader explained that the audit reports to be published belong to the government internal control system. He noted that these internal checks operate independently of external financial oversight and fiscal audits conducted by the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic.
The Chamber of Accounts is established under the Dominican constitution as the supreme audit institution of the state, answering directly to the National Congress rather than the executive presidency. While the Comptroller General handles internal executive monitoring, the Chamber of Accounts conducts independent external audits of public funds across all branches of government.
Abinader held that the decision to release the internal audit results forms part of his ongoing commitment to public transparency and accountability before Dominican citizens. He added that making the reports available to the public will contribute to strengthening transparency, accountability, and democratic practice in the country.
Precedent of government auditing commitments
The order reinstates a policy that Abinader first introduced at the start of his administration. In 2020, Abinader ordered comprehensive audits across public institutions to review the financial management of the outgoing government administration.
In 2022, Abinader expanded that policy by ordering audits of officials serving within his own government, stating at the time that the results of those reviews would be disclosed to the public.
With the new timeline now established, the government will begin releasing the accumulated audit reports on October 1, publishing further documents on a rolling basis as the Comptroller General finalizes its work.
