For having signed the Emergency Decree 102-2021, published on October 29, 2021, device that authorized the transfer of 9.6 million soles for the financing of public works in the district of Anguía (Chota, Cajamarca), the Nation’s prosecutor, Patricia Benavides, decided to initiate an investigation of the president peter castle and the former Minister of Housing and Construction Geiner Alvarado for the alleged crime of organized crime.
With the aforementioned funds, the mayor of Anguía, Nenil Medina Guerrero, put out to tender five public works, one of which, of 3 million soles, was awarded to a front company of the brothers Hugo and Anggi Espino Lucana, as revealed by an investigation by La República.
Emergency Decree 102-2021 was issued after the mayor of Anguía visited President Castillo several times and held meetings with the former Minister of Housing, Geiner Alvarado. On the same dates prior to the issuance of the decree, the friend of Mayor Nenil Medina, businessman Hugo Espino Lucana, also repeatedly met with the sister-in-law of the head of state, Yenifer Paredes Navarro.
Yenifer Paredes had worked as an official for Mayor Nenil Medina, and then he joined the company of his friend Hugo Espino, who had also served for the Anguía mayor’s office.
Hugo Espino had two companies, JJM Espino Engineering & Construction and Destcon Engineers & Architects, the latter in the name of her sister, Anggi Espino Lucana, who has already confessed that Hugo Espino was the one who managed the front company.
On September 10, 2021, JJM Espino Engineering & Construction won a contract of 3.8 million soles of the Provincial Municipality of Cajatambo. And on November 25 of the same year, Destcon Ingenieros & Arquitectos obtained the approval of the District Municipality of Anguía for a project of 3 million soles.
Paper. Minister Geiner Alvarado signed an emergency decree. Photo: Felix Contreras/The Republic
For the Public Prosecutor’s Office there was an agreement between those involved to favor the construction companies of the Espino Lucana brothers, friends of the presidential family, and other companies of his relatives in the process of identification.
At first glance, there seems to be no relationship between the Cajatambo and Anguía tenders, but there is. In the first, one of the members of the award committee, Viviana Alcántara Montes, also participated in the second process. In both cases, the brothers Hugo and Anggi Espino Lucana won the contracts.
interested relations
The National Prosecutor’s Office presumes that Viviana Alcántara Montes would have friendly ties with Yenifer Paredes Navarro and Hugo Espino Lucana, who worked in the district municipality of Anguía between 2019 and 2021. Yenifer Paredes was an official and participated in several Anguía tenders and Hugo Espino was hired by said municipality for consultancies.
In addition to the 9.6 million transferred through Emergency Decree 102-2021, the president also gave the go-ahead to transfer funds to the municipality of Anguía in order to finance the construction of a road that unites several communities, including Chugur, where the family of the head of state resides.
On October 5, 2021, without bidding, through direct contracting, the mayor of Anguía awarded the work for 19.5 million soles to two companies, Ibervial and Grupo Constructor Parasol. The owner of the first has a conviction for corruption and owes 5.9 million to Sunat, and the second gave an abandoned store in Ventanilla as its address, as reported by La República.
your friends are my friends
The bases for the award of the project were prepared by the official of the Municipality of Anguía Orlando Coronel Vásquez, a character of importance in the plot of alleged fraudulent bids.
Orlando Coronel met Yenifer Paredes and Hugo Espino at the Municipality of Anguía. Even the president’s sister-in-law joined the committees where Coronel was as a substitute.
this official, Orlando Coronel, approved five Anguía contracts financed by Pedro Castillo’s emergency decree, including the 3 million project won by the Espino Lucana brothers. And it was also Coronel, who drafted the bases of the suspicious direct hiring of Ibervial and Grupo Constructor Parasol, for the construction of the road of 19.5 million soles.
The National Prosecutor’s Office investigates 10 contracts for supervision and execution of works granted by the District Municipality of Anguía, for 29.7 million soles. If to this amount is added the 3 million 876 thousand 061 soles of the award of the Provincial Municipality of Cajatambo, we have that contracts for 33.6 million soles are under suspicion.
President peter castleas head of an alleged criminal organization, was fully informed of the actions of his sister-in-law Yenifer Paredes Navarro, who acted as operator, according to the National Prosecutor’s Office.
The modus operandi
“The alleged criminal organization would be oriented to direct irregular tenders to certain companies, as is the case (of the construction companies) of the brothers Hugo and Anggi Espino Lucana, JJM Espino Engineering & Construction and Destcon Engineers & Architects”, points out the judicial resolution that ordered the arrest of the mayor of Anguía, Nenil Medina, Yenifer Paredes and Hugo and Anggi Espino Lucana.
“Hugo Espino Lucana managed to gain access to high-ranking State officials in order to arrange and benefit with the good pro of public works in various districts and annexes of the province of Chota (Cajamarca), where the president of the Republic also has his origin, as well as fraudulently winning bids in other provinces and departments, such as in the province of Cajatambo”, adds the document.
Inner circle. Yenifer Paredes and Hugo Espino met in the municipality of Anguía, whose mayor, Nenil Medina, awarded a work of 3 million soles to his sister, Anggi Espino. Photo: composition LR/ AFP
“All this through Yenifer Paredes Navarrosister-in-law of the President of the Republic, who coordinates with him (Hugo Espino Lucana) the participation of front companies, (those who received) the awards of the fraudulent public tenders”, specifies the judicial resolution.
Under the investigations of the National Prosecutor’s Office There are also the companies that formed a consortium with the Espino Lucana company, Destcon Ingenieros & Arquitectos, that won the good pro of the project of 3 million soles. These firms are Construction Engineering Solís, Constructora y Consultora D&M and Constructora Consultora & Asociados Projectistas J & X Gonzales. None of his representatives wanted to give his version to La República about his partnership with the Espino Lucana construction company, both of whom are currently detained.
With the funds authorized by President Castillo, the mayor called for five bids, one of which was won by the Espino Lucana family.
The other four were awarded to companies that during the administration of Mayor Nenil Medina, which started in 2019, had already won contracts. That is, they are known from Medina. These are, among others: Asiel Engineering & Construction, Construction Company & General Services Akunta, Construction Company Santalia.
The suspicion of the National Prosecutor’s Office is that the chain of command worked as follows:
–President Castillo arranged the funds to finance the Anguía district contracts,
–Yenifer Paredes and Hugo Espino searched for and negotiated with companies belonging to their relatives, to present themselves to the bidding processes.
-The mayor of Anguía, Nenil Medina, decided that the official Orlando Coronel Vásquez, will participate in all the bids to ensure that they win the contracts colluded companies.
Orlando Coronel also elaborated the bases of the award of a work of 19.5 million soles, tailored to the companies Ibervial and Grupo Constructor Parasol. Companies of friends, some with suspicious backgrounds, others with a front or simulation, for the Prosecutor’s Office there was a distribution of public works.
Money from the Paredes brothers is “bribery”
According to the judicial resolution that ordered the arrest of Yenifer Paredes Navarro, his brothers David and Walter Paredes Navarro would also be part of the alleged criminal organization that forged public works tenders.
As it is public, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) reported to the Public Ministry that President Castillo’s brothers-in-law, David and Walter Navarro, provided 90,000 soles to the brothers Hugo and Anggi Lucana, whose companies participated in the contracts called by the provincial municipalities of Cajatambo and the district of Anguía.
The judicial resolution indicates that the 90,000 soles would be part of a “bribery” to get the good fortune of public works. Due to this fact, it is probable that the authorities order the preliminary arrest of the brothers David and Walter Paredes Navarro.
It is also highlighted that the first lady Lilia Paredes was the one who authorized the entry of Hugo Espino to Government Palace.
The data
To the order. The former Minister of Housing and Construction, and current head of Transport and Communications, Geiner Alvarado, made himself available to the National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavidez.
Indicated. Geiner Alvarado rejects that he is accused of belonging to a criminal organization to grant public works to companies related to relatives or close associates of President Pedro Castillo.
