The Control Commission of the Congress of the Republic summoned the first lady, Lilia Paredes, her sister Yenifer Paredesand the businessman Hugo Espino for Wednesday, July 13 at 9:00 am so that they respond to the irregular offer of a sanitation work in Cajamarca made by the president’s sister-in-law, according to a video from Cuarto Poder.
Congressman Héctor Ventura (FP), who chairs the Control Commission, considered that the evidence shows a close relationship between Yenifer Paredes and Hugo Espino, general manager of JJM Espino Engineering and Construction SAC, a company that obtained the tender for said work, which It had a cost of 3.8 million soles.
It should be remembered that at the time when the first lady’s younger sister tried to convince the residents of the Chadín district, in Chota, she was wearing the company’s vest.
Ventura recalled that the businessman visited both sisters in the Government Palace up to five times, between August and October of last year, as confirmed by the Transparency Portal.
“After these visits, Espino wins bids in Cajamarca. Let us clarify what kind of negotiations and issues were discussed in the Government Palace, ”he told the media.
Congressman César Revilla (FP), a member of this supervisory commission, pointed out that, if the facts were verified, a crime would be configuring and he estimated that the investigations in his commission would take between 30 to 60 business days.
PROSECUTOR ADVANCES
The Sixth Office of the First Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Lima, in charge of Deputy Prosecutor Luis Zúñiga, visited the Government Palace yesterday to verify the documentation of the registry of visits.
At the same time, prosecutor Javier Cuadros visited the headquarters of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation in order to review the execution of sanitation projects in the town of La Succha, district of San Miguel, in Cajamarca.
Likewise, the Ombudsman’s Office called on the Public Ministry to “exhaustively investigate” the participation of Yenifer Paredes in the events under investigation.
For the criminal lawyer Andy Carrión, Pedro Castillo’s family is in a complicated situation and it would be appropriate for the Prosecutor’s Office to request the lifting of the secrecy of communications soon. As he indicated, Yenifer Paredes could not only be investigated for influence peddling but, eventually, for usurpation of functions. “She is holding a position that in fact does not materialize, which is that of a public official offering works to certain residents,” he told Peru21.
Carrión added that the Public Ministry will have a period of 12 months to complete the preliminary investigations.
For his part, criminal lawyer Luis Lamas Puccio clarified that, unlike Pedro Castillo, the Paredes sisters do not have any type of immunity, which will facilitate the work of the Prosecutor’s Office.
KEEP IN MIND
- The company JJM Espino Ingenieria & Construccion SAC, whose general manager is Hugo Espino, registers other contracts with the State, since 2019, for a total amount of S/242,300.
- In 2021, it contracted with the municipality of José Sabogal, Cajamarca, and with the municipality of San Marcos, Áncash, for S/52,700 and S/28,500, respectively.
