Candidate George Forsyth accumulated vehicle assets based on donations Candidate George Forsyth accumulated vehicle assets based on donations

Update at 11:40 p.m. on February 3, 2021

Between 2016, in the time before leaving professional football, and until he served as mayor of La Victoria in 2019, presidential candidate George Forsyth Sommer (38) obtained almost all of his vehicle assets, declared to the National Elections Jury ( JNE), through donations. These were gifts transferred by the businessman who owns Inca Rail and importer of Kawasaki motorcycles from Japan, and also by the company itself that the former goalkeeper founded with his friend Raúl Navarro Maurtua, in the Peruvian capital.

In the context of the Bicentennial elections, Forsyth Sommer presented his resume to the JNE and declared that he owned four high-end vehicles (three of them are a Toyota Land Cruiser, a Honda Pilot and a Kawasaki Ninja sports bike). The candidate, however, chose not to detail that said assets were received as a donation from Juan Alberto Forsyth Alarco (from the Crosland business group and shareholder of Inca Rail), and from his own company, GRT Seguridad y Control.

The original cost of these three vehicles, before being donated to the current presidential candidate of the National Victory party, amounted to US$67,000, according to Public Records.

DONATIONS. The National Victory candidate, George Forsyth, declared three vehicles acquired under the donation modality, from a businessman and the company founded by the former goalkeeper.

Documents: National Superintendence of Public Registries

Crosland, created in the 1960s in Lima, is led by engineer Juan Alberto Forsyth Rivarola (80) and his son Juan Forsyth Alarco (57). This family group – one of the largest importers of motorcycles in the market – reached the top of the business when it nominally associated itself with the Carlyle Group, a prominent global investment firm, with the aim of promoting its company Inca Rail, which transports passengers to Machupicchu and Ollantaytambo in the tourist heart of Cusco.

The first donation from the owner of Crosland to the current presidential candidate occurred in 2019. At that time, Forsyth was already acting mayor of La Victoria, after leaving Alianza Lima (2016) and brief appearances on entertainment and dance programs such as El Gran Show ( 2017). In May of that year, Forsyth Alarco gave the burgomaster a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado truck for unknown reasons.

According to Public Records, businessman Forsyth Alarco bought the vehicle on May 14, 2019 for US$20,000 and, after legalizing the process at a notary's office, donated it to the former soccer player just two days later, on May 16. Five years earlier, said van was in the possession of Dionisio Romero Paoletti, president of Banco de Credito.

That month, the same Crosland group made another donation, but this time George Forsyth was not the recipient but the Municipality of Victoria, while the former goalkeeper was the mayor. The same mayor made the donation public through his social networks, but without giving details of his relationship with the company. So, Crosland gave away 10 linear Boxer Bajaj motorcycles meant to fight crime. This organization represents and imports this brand originating from India.

Another notable event in the relationship between the candidate and the Crosland group occurred three years earlier. In 2015, while Forsyth was completing his last year as goalkeeper for Alianza Lima, the company GRT Seguridad y Control bought a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle for US$20,990 from Crosland Automotriz SAC, official importer and distributor of the legendary Japanese brand. The fact would not be relevant if it were not because, in 2016, GRT Seguridad y Control also donated said motorcycle to the then soccer player, according to the Public Records.

KAWASAKI. In 2016, the company GRT Seguridad y Control donated a Kawasaki Ninja to the current candidate George Forsyth. Said vehicle is imported by the Crosland Group.

Photo: George Forsyth's Facebook

The company GRT Seguridad y Control –created in 2012 in Lima by George Forsyth and his partner Raúl Navarro Maurtua– also acquired a Honda Pilot car for US$26,800, in 2014, and ended up donating it to the then soccer player in 2016, as happened in the previous cases. . Precisely, last week El Comercio revealed that Navarro, who is also a friend of the candidate, benefited from S / 100 thousand in contracts with the management of Forsyth in the municipality of La Victoria for administration, management and communication services.

The presidential candidate is a declared lover of high-end sports cars, trucks and motorcycles. From shortly before he stopped working as a footballer, in 2016, until he was elected mayor of La Victoria in 2018, he served as a kind of representative of the Kawasaki brand, which is marketed by the Crosland group, either by participating in interviews with specialized media in motorcycles or in the opening of a branch specialized in Kawasaki of the Forsyth Alarco family company.

OjoPúblico contacted the National Victoria candidate to find out the reason for the donations, and his family or business relationship with the Crosland Forsyths, but there was no response. The same thing happened with the company when we contacted it. Even so, we established that both families know each other since Harold Forsyth Mejía, current Peruvian ambassador to Japan and father of the former mayor of La Victoria, created a business in the 1990s with the brother of the main shareholder of Inca Rail and current representative of some of their companies.

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A company in Iquitos omitted before the JNE

Within the framework of this profile of Forsyth Sommer, OjoPúblico also determined that the candidate for National Victory was the founder of the company Fyvcon; where he appears with the position of commercial manager since 2018. This position in the private sector, however, was not included in Forsyth Sommer's resume, which is hosted on the official portal of the National Elections Jury.

The resume of a candidate and the information provided have the quality of a sworn statement before the law. In addition, according to the regulations, an omission of income leads to the withdrawal of the candidate from the electoral contest.

The Public Records detail that Forsyth founded the company in March 2018, in the city of Iquitos (Loreto), together with the businesswoman Patricia Vargas Ramírez. At that time, Forsyth had not yet formalized his candidacy, that same year, for mayor of La Victoria. The company file details that its objective is the purchase and sale of construction machinery, as well as the execution of real estate projects.

In the same registration act of constitution, the former goalkeeper was appointed as the company's commercial manager. "Mr. George Patrick Forsyth Sommer, identified with DNI No. 41265978, is appointed commercial manager," reads the registration file reviewed by OjoPúblico. This identity document, as well as the address recorded in Public Records (an address in Magdalena del Mar), effectively correspond to the candidate.

In 2018, in fact, Forsyth Sommer declared in his resume, as a candidate for mayor of La Victoria, that he owned S / 25 thousand in shares in said construction company. To date, the Public Registry portal has not submitted a resignation from its position as commercial manager, nor has it transferred the candidate's shares in Fyvcon. The company is also considered active in its field before the tax authority.

Despite holding this position for three years, Forsyth has not declared income from the private sector for the year 2019, in his resume as a candidate for the Presidency. JNE regulations establish that a candidate can be withdrawn from the electoral contest if he omits information about his private income. In his resume of June 2018, however, Forsyth declared more than S / 42 thousand in income from his private activities.

OjoPúblico searched for Vargas Ramírez, however, the cell phone numbers linked to the construction company are out of service. Our media outlet was able to contact by phone the office located in Lince, which Vargas Ramírez has registered as the fiscal domicile of her other companies. An official, who preferred not to be identified, pointed out that she only attends said office once a month, and that she has not communicated for several days. Our media finally sent him an email, but we did not receive a response.

Based on this finding, on February 1, the Special Electoral Jury (JEE) of Lima Centro 1 requested a report from its inspection area to determine "if there had been an omission" in Forsyth Sommer's resume. On February 3, one of the inspectors of said JEE, Ivan Salazar Salazar, concluded that "the candidate did not declare income that he would receive in the private sector" for his position in the Fyvcon construction company. Now, Victoria Nacional must present its defenses and the JEE make a decision in the first instance.

Forsyth's other businesses

In addition to said construction company, OjoPúblico determined that Forsyth has founded another nine companies in Lima, between 2009 and 2018; that is, almost at the same time that he was a footballer. These include companies dedicated to the sports and security sector, as well as restaurants. To date, however, only four of these companies are active in the National Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat).

In the textile sector, the National Victory candidate has founded two companies. The first of these is Alianza de Inversión, a company created in 2009 together with businessman Víctor Alfaro Angulo. The company started with S/1,000 of initial capital, was dedicated to the sale of clothing and had its headquarters in Surquillo. Since 2015, however, this company has not registered any activity with the tax authority.

The second textile company founded by Forsyth was named Hns Forsyth. This company was established in April 2014 by the brothers George and Harold Forsyth Sommer, with the aim of marketing clothing, jewelry and perfumes, according to Public Records. The company had an office in San Isidro; although its activities have ceased, to date, according to the tax authority's database.

BUSINESS. George Forsyth established at least seven companies while working as a professional soccer goalkeeper in Peru, especially in the Alianza Lima team.

Photo: Andean

In the field of security services, the former soccer player founded two other companies. The first is GRT Seguridad y Control, which he created together with Raúl Navarro, and which donated the aforementioned Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and Honda Pilot car to the candidate. Between 2013 and 2014, GRT Seguridad y Control provided security services to the mayor of Huaral for S/300,000. In 2017, the former soccer player resigned from the position of legal representative of this company, according to Public Records, although the company continues to operate.

In 2015, Forsyth again ventured into private security services. On that date, the then soccer player and businessman Rogelio Guzmán Rouviros formed Creative Technology Engineering. The company was founded with S/10 thousand and is dedicated to the sale of electronic security equipment, in addition to providing advice in this area. In May 2018, Forsyth resigned from the position of general manager in this company.

In the sports field, the Victorian candidate registers two other companies. The first is Negocios Paralelos, which is dedicated to teaching physical education and setting up sports therapy centers. The company was created in 2011 by Forsyth and Ricardo Bernales Uzátegui, who served years later as director of Provias Nacional. According to the tax authority, this company has not registered activities since 2012.

With Bernales Uzátegui, the candidate for National Victory created a second sports company: Inversiones FBG. The company started with S/1,000 of capital and included the citizen Marcos Edgard Gómez Llamoca as a shareholder. The company, which has also suspended its activities before Sunat, dedicated itself to the "installation of gyms for training and physical conditioning," according to the registration file.

In the area of ​​food sales, the candidate for National Victory registers two companies in his business history. The first of them was called Los M, and was established in 2017 with the capital of Forsyth and the brothers Luis, Alberto and Fernando Maurtua Luyo. The second was established in July of the same year, under the name of Imka Gastro. To date, both have suspended their activities before the Sunat.

Forsyth finally established GFS Tec, a company dedicated to the sale of LED lights and screens. In this case, the former Alianza Lima goalkeeper registered the company in March 2011 with a capital of S/10,000, together with the engineer Carlos Flores Wiegering, who has been linked to the Ovación sports media board. To date, Forsyth is still registered as general manager of said company before Sunat.

Of these ten companies, Forsyth did not include four in his resume submitted to the JNE: Alianza de Inversión, Negocios Paralelos, GRT Seguridad y Control, and Creative Technology Engineering. The first two, however, no longer operate, according to the Sunat registry. The former mayor of Victoria has also resigned from his management positions in the last two companies, according to the Public Records.

Last Thursday, the lawyer Luis Alberto Ayquipa Zela ─who is a member of Direct Democracy and a former candidate for Congress for that party─ filed an exclusion request for George Forsyth for not declaring income from the private sector. Based on this complaint, and less than three months before the elections, the Special Jury of Lima Centro 1 has requested a report from the inspection area of ​​said electoral authority.

The report of the auditor Salazar Salazar was issued on February 1, and he concluded that "we would be facing a possible omission of information"; since Forsyth Sommer did register private income, for the year 2019, in his affidavit presented to the Comptroller In his defenses before this electoral authority, Victoria Nacional recognized that the candidate made "an error" by not declaring more than S / 53 thousand from the private sector. Based on this information, the JEE of Lima Centro 1 will have to make a decision on the candidate's request for exclusion.