Santo Domingo.- Today marks a key date for Bahia de las Aguilas, the country’s most exotic and among the world’s pristine beaches.

It is located in the extreme southwest province of Pedernales, whose senator , Dionis Sanchez on Thursday admitted that many of the “title” holders could benefit monetarily from the transaction, despite their illicit origin.

That origin dates to 1997, when the first indictments were unsealed against officials and individuals behind one of the biggest land-grab schemes ever attempted, with around 90 square kilometers of beachfront property declared an “agricultural homestead” by the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD) in 1996.

Sanchez said the Supreme Court, then headed by Jorge Subero, declared itself “incompetent” to rule in the still pending case which has “more than 600 defendants charged with fraud.”

Interviewed on Hoy Mismo, Colorvision, the lawmaker affirmed that he’s unaware of what will be announced in today’s National Palace press conference, with the ministers of the Environment and of Tourism.

Sanchez, who rebuked the lack of action by the government to jump start the Southwest’s development, noted that Pedernales has more than 70 kilometers of beach with “nothing to envy” from Bahia de las Aguilas.

“We aren’t calling for development of bahia de las Aguilas, what we demand is to be allowed to develop the rest of the territory,” he said, adding that 60% of the territory of Pedernales are protected areas.