The complaint against the former Minister of Public Works Victor Diaz Rua and businessman Mustafa Abu Naba’a mentioned yesterday, Thursday 24 October by District Attorney Yeni Berenice Reynoso was submitted by the Justice First Foundation (Fundacion Primero Justicia), as reported in El Dia. Freddy Aguasvivas, a journalist and spokesman for the foundation, accuses the former minister of millions of pesos worth of irregularities in the import of asphalt (AC-30). He told El Dia that the case was presented to the Attorney General Office a year ago and to the District Attorney five months ago where investigations were begun.
The journalist said that when Miguel Vargas Maldonado was Minister of Public Works during the Hipolito Mejia presidency a contract was signed with the Sargeant Petroleum company, represented by Abu Naba’a, for supplying petroleum to the Ministry of Public Works. He said the contract continued to be applied when Vargas was replaced by Minister Freddy Perez during the Leonel Fernandez presidency. But when Victor Diaz Rua was appointed, 12 amendments were made to the contract in violation of the Procurement Law that only allows two modifications, which cannot be more than 25% of the original contract.
He said the complaint is based on documents from the Ministry of Public Works and the Dominican Petroleum Refinery.
Aguasvivas said that the complaint also focuses on the fact that the contract gave a kind of monopoly on asphalt imports to the company represented by Abu Naba’a by imposing US$0.10 on each gallon of the material imported by a different company, which represented US$11.5 million in earnings up to 14 August 2012, at the change of government.
Aguasvivas is best known for his book, “All Possibilities” (Todas las Posibilidades) on the Baninter banking scandal.