September 3, 2022, 2:15 AM
September 3, 2022, 2:15 AM
After more than 10 hours of precautionary hearing in the Second Anticorruption and Violence Against Women Court of Sucre, the jurisdictional authority determined the preventive detention of the representative of the China Harbor Engineering Company (Chec), Jin Zhengyuan, and the technical manager of the Bolivian Highway Administration (ABC), Cristian Mendieta, in the San Roque de Sucre prison for six months, charged within the complaint of the payment of an alleged bribe of 18 million Bolivians from the foreign company to be awarded the work of the Sucre-Yamparáez double track.
The Chinese businessman was apprehended at his home in La Paz on Thursday. Mendieta surrendered at the seat of Government. Both were transferred to the city of Sucre for the precautionary hearing.
The hearing began after 3:20 p.m. after the defendants, along with their lawyers and the accusers, the Public Ministry and deputy Héctor Arce, entered the court.
Entering the audience Jin Zhengyuan’s lawyer maintained that his client is innocent of this complaint and the contract adheres to the terms of reference, being an experienced company and within the framework of the legality of that contract.
“My client is absolutely innocent, we have a contract with a state entity, which has gone through a series of administrative filters, that through this investigative process we are going to demonstrate in the corresponding phases, because as you know it is long, “he said.
Deputy Héctor Arce’s complaint is for crimes of breach of duties, uneconomic conduct and contracts harmful to the State. Another of those involved the regional manager of the ABC in Chuquisaca, Hernán Palacios, appeared this Friday before the Public Ministry to assume defense within the complaint of alleged bribery of 18 million Bolivians in the construction of the Sucre-Yamparaez dual carriageway.
His lawyer, Cimar Campos, said that they make themselves available to the Prosecutor’s Office to help clarify this fact and He denied that his client had anything to do with any act of corruption.
Campos said that in addition to Palacios, Javier López and Misael Martínez, accused of alleged acts of corruption within the ABC, for the payment of a bribe of 18 million Bolivians.
“The Prosecutor’s Office will be able to establish that at least in this region there was no irregular act that may imply acts of corruption in relation to any of its officials”, said the jurist.
After leaving the Prosecutor’s Office, the lawyer pointed out that they could not access the investigation notebooks to assume defense, since The Public Ministry declared this case confidential. and asked that this reservation be lifted.
The accused Palacios said that he voluntarily appears to assume defense. “We are making ourselves available to the Prosecutor’s Office so that they can convene when they want and we help with all the information of the international public tender, we have a clear conscience because we have enforced the regulations, the dates, we have made the company that has offered the lowest cost win than all the bidders, the company that had the best experience and is proving it , to date he is working twice as hard,” he said.
Public officials denounced
Henry Nina Calle – Executive President of ABC
Freddy Mamani – Secretary General of ABC
Cristian Mendieta Cordero – ABC National Technical Manager
Members of the Qualification Commission: Javier López Quespi, Said Martínez Carballo, Cosme Gudelio Agostopa Chaparro, Carlos Rafael Chipana Vargas, Deymcr Quispe Valencia, Juan Carlos Chura Hidalgo.
And Hernán Palacios Marquez, responsible for the contracting process in public bidding.
Individual defendants
Jin Zhengyuan on behalf of the Chinese company Harbor Engineering Company-Chec (Bolivia Branch).
