The Prosecutor’s Office formalized a criminal accusation against former officials of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) for his alleged participation in a collusion scheme during the development of section 4 of the Southern Interoceanic Road Corridora work that connects the south of the country with Brazil.
The Public Ministry requested sentences of up to 11 years of effective prison for those involved, after identifying alleged irregularities in the bidding and execution stage of the project.
The request was presented by the provincial prosecutor Norma Geovana Mori Gómezmember of the Lava Jato Special Teambefore the Judiciary. The document points out José Ortiz, Mario Arbulú and Kitty Trinidadalong with others investigated, for allegedly favoring consortia interested in obtaining the award of the megaproject.
According to the accusation, the decisions taken by the former officials would have violated provisions of public procurement regulations.
According to the tax investigation, the events would have occurred during the second APRA government, a period in which the accused held positions linked to contracting processes in the Transportation sector.
The file states that the authorizations, supervisions and validations of the progress of work would have been carried out without meeting established requirements, which – according to the Public Ministry – would have generated undue advantages for certain companies and affected state resources.
The “Finger of God” case integrates the files promoted by the Lava Jato Special Team within the framework of investigations into alleged corruption in public megaprojects.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, this accusation is the 30th presented to the courts by said unit.
Section 4 of the South Interoceanic Highway appears in various tax investigations for alleged cost overruns, unsupported payments and possible agreements between officials and representatives of construction companies.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the defendants would have articulated mechanisms to favor certain consortia during the bidding phase and in the execution of the project, which – according to the file – would have generated economic damage for the State.
EXIT IMPEDIMENT
As recalled, in 2019 the Judiciary ordered that nine former officials linked to the project developed on the hill known as “Dedo de Dios”, located in section 4 of the Southern Interoceanic Highway, remain in the country for a period of 12 months while the tax investigations progressed. The measure was issued within the framework of the process that examined alleged irregularities in the blasting and earthworks carried out in that area.
During that period, the Public Ministry had initiated an accounting investigation related to payments made during the second APRA government and involving the Intersur Concesiones SA consortium, made up of Andrade Gutiérrez, Queiroz Galvao and Camargo y Correa. The investigation also reached the Interoceánica Sur Supervisory Consortium, as well as officials from OSITRAN and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
According to tax sources cited at that time, the case was associated with an alleged improper collection for a greater volume of meters approved in favor of the concessionaire consortium between 2007 and 2010. The Prosecutor’s Office attributed the economic damage to the State to payments associated with valuations with oversized meters registered in a specific section of the work.
