The formal accusation presented by the Specialized Attorney’s Office Pursuit of the Administrative Corruption (Pepca) against 17 defendants in the call Operation Chameleon describes a multi-layered network of corruption that, according to the Public Ministry, combined fraud in public procurement, money laundering, technological sabotage, terrorism and internal espionage, with a loss of more than 1.6 billion pesos for the Dominican State.
The document, of more than 300 pages, details how an organization made up of officials and individuals would have taken control of strategic systems of the State, from the traffic light network from Greater Santo Domingo to the platforms of video surveillance of the Ministry of Defense.
A scheme of power and control
In the center of the file there is José Ángel Gómez Canaán (Jochi Gómez), identified as the final beneficiary of the fraudulent contracts and creator of a business network façade —Dekolor, Transcore Latam, PaymentRD XchangeAurix, OML Inversiones, Inprosol and Soltex Dominicana—used to channel public funds and hide their illicit origin.
At his side, according to the accusation, he acted Hugo Berasformer director of the National Institute of Traffic and Land Transportation (Intrant), who would have authorized the awarding and manipulation of millionaire contracts during his management, along with other high-level officials of the organization.
The Public Ministry maintains that this alliance of officials and businessmen operated as a organized criminal structurewith division of taskspermanence over time and access to sensitive information of the State.
Tailor-made contracts
One of the pillars of the case is the public tender INTRANT-CCC-LPN-2023-0001, intended to modernize and manage the comprehensive control system of traffic and traffic light network of Greater Santo Domingo.
According to the Pepcahe specifications was written within the winning company, Transcore Latam SRL, guaranteeing that the result was decided before the contest was published.
That company, directly linked to Gómez Canaán, would have simulated competition through the creation of consortia and fictitious bidders. Documentary evidence includes emails in which the defendant registered the domain transcore.com.do and created false addresses, such as [email protected], to impersonate a foreign company.
The addendums to the scam
Another axis of the file is the contract signed between the INTRANT and Dekolor SRL, originally for the issuance of driver’s licenses. through three irregular addendums —signed between 2020 and 2024 under different administrations—, the amount of the contract was increased and modified without technical support, incorporating non-authorized medical services and inflated prices.
The maneuvers included an alleged inflation readjustment of 17.83%, calculated in violation of Central Bank regulations, and the creation of non-existent debts for more than 936 million pesos. The company, which lacked experience in the sector, became a monopoly of services and license collection, under the control of Gómez Canaán.
The money circuit
According to the accusation, the financial flow of the network was divided into two aspects.
On the one hand, Dekolor obtained inflated payments from the State through fraudulent contracts and addendums; on the other, PaymentRD Xchange SRL, a company also controlled by Gómez Canaán, retained citizen collections for driver’s licenses that it had to transfer to the State.
The Public Ministry calculated a shortage of RD$730 million, resulting from undeposited income, which was diverted to personal accounts and related companies. Altogether, the property damage would exceed RD$1,666 million.
The diverted funds were allegedly laundered through the purchase of real estate in Piantini, Cap Cana and Jarabacoa, armored vehicles and international transfers. The company OML Inversiones SRL would have served as a vehicle for money laundering and asset concealment.
Sabotage and espionage
The file introduces an unusual component in cases of administrative corruption: the accusation of terrorism and technological sabotage.
According to the Public Ministry, the organization carried out deliberate attacks on the Greater Santo Domingo traffic light system in August 2024, after internal investigations were initiated, as a form of pressure and warning.
Furthermore, through an irregular agreement with the Ministry of Defensethe company Aurix SAS would have had unauthorized access to platforms of video surveillance and state control, used—according to the accusation—for espionage and asset concealment.
Prosecutors maintain that this infiltration directly compromised the national security and violated the principles of confidentiality and administrative legality.
The role of officials
In addition to Beras and Gómez Canaán, several former directors and technicians of the INTRANT: Frank Rafael Atilano Díaz WardenSamuel Gregorio Baquero Sepúlveda, Juan Francisco Álvarez Carbuccia and Pedro Vinicio Padovani Báez, indicated by rigging bidsfalsify certifications and facilitate irregular payments.
Other defendants—Carlos Peguero, Mariano Gustini, Manuel Mora, Henry Feliz—would have acted as figureheads either financial intermediaries in the network of money laundering.
An unprecedented case
The Operation Chameleon combines in the same file typical elements of the administrative corruption with crimes typical of organized crime and high technology.
The Public Ministry affirms that the network, by taking control of the traffic light and transportation systems, video surveillancenot only caused a economic damagebut it put at risk the national security and public confidence in institutions.
The document quotes a phrase from the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:
“Corruption is the invisible enemy that weakens institutionserodes trust and perpetuates inequality.”
He judicial process It is barely beginning, but the accusation already paints a picture where corruption not only stole public money, but also penetrated the State’s technology to use it, under the shadow of a network that, according to the Pepcaacted like a true chameleon in the systems of power.
