June 23, 2023, 4:00 AM
June 23, 2023, 4:00 AM
The corruption network that was installed in the Ministry of Environment and Water between 2021 and 2023 It involves some eight former officials, the relatives of the main people involved, private individuals that they knew of the illegal acts and others that would have been used to “launder” the money coming from millionaire bribes to award public works. To this list of implicated two companies join for which resources would have been diverted.
“There is the former minister, the former vice minister, two former general directors, a former head of unit, a former project development technical official, individuals who have used their accounts and in some cases have used them to send (amounts to) their accounts and try to launder the money from the bribes. We still have a lot of work to do,” explained lawyer Abel Loma, defender of the collector of bribes Claudia Cortez in telephone contact with EL DEBER.
The former public servants involved and detained are: Juan Santos Cruz, former Minister of the Environment; Carmelo Valda, former Vice Minister of Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation; Jhonny Alexander Santos Sánchez, a Senasag official and Santos’s nephew, and Rosa Viviana Bautista, who was a Payroll Technician in the Environment portfolio.
According to Cortez’s complaint, there are two former general directors involved, one of them identified as Ricardo Alejandro B. del C. and another whose name has not yet been revealed. Besides, They are targeting a former head of unit and a former project development technical official.
to this list joins Eber Rojas, leader of the Single Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (Csutcb), who was pointed out by Cortez for having received $us 10,000 and Bs 30,000 in his office. The leader denied this accusation and announced a criminal complaint against the main complainant and defendant who is defending herself in freedom.
Regarding relatives of those involved, Santos Cruz’s brother-in-law and two nieces appear; as well as officials, police and private persons. There are 60 accounts from which an attempt was made to “launder” the money. It is known that some of the people involved did not know the purposes of the deposits.
“For example, Juan Santos used his brother-in-law’s bank account, but apparently the man would have lent his account in good faith because they told him that they were transferring money to be delivered to Mrs. Viviana Bautista, in Pando, supposedly for social organizations. There are people who have been used and their bank accounts to launder that money and buy real estate; The same happens with Mr. Jhonny Alexander, in Tarija”, clarified the jurist Abel Loma.
The case of millionaire bribes in the Ministry of the Environment became known in March of this year when the deputy Gualberto Arispe (MAS) presented details of an anonymous complaint that pointed to the former minister Juan Santos Cruz of irregular collections to companies awarded works. In May, the Vice Ministry of Transparency filed a criminal lawsuit against Jhonny Santos and Viviana Bautista, after an analysis of their bank movements since January.
According to the complaint of the collector of the bribes Claudia Cortez, Santos demanded a 3% “commission” from interested companies to win the bids. Collections were made in cash and delivered in the same way in the former minister’s office, located on the 18th floor of the Casa Grande del Pueblo.
The situation is complicated, since the money with which the works were executed comes from international financing which is transformed into external debt for the State. To date, it is not known which construction companies or owners are involved.
For more than a month the Prosecutor’s Office has not provided a report on the progress of the caseToday the data is known unofficially. Prosecutor Freddy Alborta, a member of the investigation commission, had scheduled a press conference for Monday, but it was canceled due to “a trial hearing.” The parties to the case, such as Santos and Bautista, observed that the entire investigation log is not available in the digital system of the Public Ministry.
Due to this and other facts, President Luis Arce presented a bill to create a risk system for the prevention and fight against corruption. However, former ministers Carlos Romero and Teresa Morales described this measure as unnecessary. Romero considers that the current government is the “most corrupt in the history of Bolivia.”
Two questioned companies
The Ministry of Justice identified the former director of the Coordinating and Executing Unit of Programs and Projects of the Ministry of Environment and Water, Ricardo AB del C., as implicated in the bribery case, who he amassed a fortune of Bs 1,236,941 between 2021 and 2022, precisely when he started working for the State portfolio now questioned.
The authorities investigated Ricardo AB del C.’s assets, compared them with the sworn statement of assets that he submitted to the comptroller’s office, and discovered that, Apart from being a public official, he was also a private businessman whoHe had two ventures that he did not report.
The former official’s sworn statement indicates that he has property and assets worth Bs 1,066,200. However, the investigation reveals that he has two vehicles and a motorcycle under his name and the companies Zisary Productions and the security company, Seven Staff-Scorpio.
A report from the Vice Ministry of Transparency indicates that the economic income that obtained by the Seven Staff-Scorpio company during four administrations was Bs 214,723. “This is inconsistent with what is detailed in the affidavits of assets and income,” the document refers to.
These two companies are being questioned and the complaining party suspects that they were used by the former official to “justify the money from the bribes.”
Cortez pointed to the now investigated for having supplied the numbers of the construction companies, those that were awarded some workfor the “negotiations” to begin.
It is known that the vice-ministry requested on two occasions to expand the complaints against the former director and also his apprehension; However, the person involved has already declared and defends himself in freedom. According to the formal indictment of Juan Santos in May, 15 people declaredAmong them is the statement of Ricardo B.
