The president of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), Andres Bautista complained that the Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez has not investigated the overpricing of the works built by the Brazilian firm Odebrecht. Bautista speculated the prosecutor does not want to have to reveal the names of the government officers and government party members that are involved.
The Odebrecht case is under investigation after a New York City Court announced that the Brazilian company had admitted to paying US$92 million in bribes in the Dominican Republic for securing contract work. The only named person, Angel Rondón has denied receiving bribes and has argued he received a similar amount as professional fees for securing the work for the company. So far there have been no arrests by Dominican prosecutors.
Bautista gave the example of overpricing in that the Coral Highway to Punta Cana was contracted for US$272 million, and Congress approved a US$163 million loan for the project. Nevertheless, he said in the SIGEF government financial system shows a record of US$454 million paid with foreign loans for the same construction.
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Acento
13 March 2017
