The bribes paid by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in secret accounts that former officials of the Aprista regime of Alan García hid in the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) were blocked by a judicial authority of the European principality, according to the Spanish newspaper El País.
In reality, it is about the money that the former vice president of Petroperú and close friend of Alan García, Miguel Atala Herrera, the former officials of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Edwin Luyo and Santiago Chau, and the former director of Ositran, Juan Carlos, could not withdraw in time. Zevallos.
According to the decision of the Andorran judge Stephanie García, these four people have 1 million 673 thousand 946 dollars from the bribes that Odebrecht paid them to direct contracts for the benefit of the construction company. It’s not all they got.
For example, Miguel Atala, who acted as figurehead for Alan García, confessed to the authorities that he opened an account at the BPA to receive Odebrecht bribes destined for the former APRA president.
“(Alan García) asked me to take said money progressively, so after that meeting (in the Government Palace) I began to take the money to former President Alan García. The first time in an approximate amount of US$ 20,000 to US$ 30,000, and in this way he progressively brought money to former President García. Every time he needed money he called me by phone beforehand and summoned me to various places, I have given him money on various occasions and places such as the Government Palace, at his home,” said Atala, who, in total, gave him US$1 million. 300 thousand to the former Aprista head of state. Atala’s account still had $17,000 left.
In the case of Santiago Chau, he left a total of US$442,380 in BPA, while Juan Carlos Zevallos US$113,737 and Edwin Luyo US$1,100,000 in the same bank.
The businessman Rómulo Peñaranda Castañeda, who was the operator of the Odebrecht corruption network in Peru, also had an account with the BPA. He was left with US$202,678.
According to the statements of the effective collaborator Jorge Barata, former representative of the Brazilian construction company in Peru, by decision of the high command of Odebrecht, accounts were opened in the name of front companies, which then transferred the dirty money to the former officials who were sold to the corruption.
For the specific case of Alan García, Odebrecht created an offshore company in the name of Miguel Atala Herrera, Ammarin Investment, and an account managed by the businessman in BPA. But Garcia received much more money in another way.
The former secretary of President García, Luis Nava Guibert, told the authorities that Barata was taking money to the former president in briefcases and lunch boxes.
According to information from the Madrid newspaper El País, the lawyer Horacio Cánepa Torre also owned an account at the BPA where he received up to US$1,176,000 from Odebrecht.
Cánepa, who came to withdraw his money from the BPA, forged arbitrations for the benefit of the construction company.
A farce of bidding from the MTC
The payments made by Odebrecht to the secret accounts in the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) are related to the award of Line 1 of the Lima Metro.
As part of the corrupt agreement between Odebrecht and Alan García, the latter issued an emergency decree so that the Ministry of Transport and Communications would be in charge of the tender.
And so it was, officials of the MTC of the Aprista regime of García mounted a farce of bidding to favor the Brazilian construction company.
