When most everyone had forgotten about the Transcore Latam traffic light modernization contract scandal that ousted traffic expert Hugo Beras from the National Transport and Transit Institute (Intrant), recent raids and investigations aired in the media and it seems these have been ongoing.
Transcore Latam had been awarded the contract to modernize the traffic lights in Greater Santo Domingo but the contract would be rescinded in a series of events that led to Beras’ successor, Milton Morrison naming as “terrorism,” the unexpected shutdown of the traffic lights in the capital city and threats by the contract holders.
There were threats and bravado, but the case would gradually disappear from the media until now.
On Friday, 6 June 2025, Aquiles Jiménez, an entertainment producer who has been a government critic, is now known to be facing fresh judicial accusations of defamation while already under investigation for alleged involvement in a corruption network linked to the scandal surrounding the contract for modernizing the traffic light system in Greater Santo Domingo, Diario Libre reports.
Since October 2024, the Public Ministry, the prosecutor division of the Attorney General Office, has identified Jiménez as a suspected member of the structure that allegedly funneled illicit funds from state payments to Transcore Latam, the company implicated in the case.
The investigation reveals that Jiménez received bank transfers from this company on 25 September and 22 October 2023 totaling two million pesos.
According to the Public Ministry, Jiménez was among those who made statements to the press, announcing control over the traffic light network and threatening to turn off the lights. “Hopefully Carlos Pimentel can manage the traffic,” he had told the country, referring to the Procurement Agency chief. He later told the press he would do so “under orders from the company.”
On 6 June 2025, the Office of the Attorney General, through its General Prosecution Department and the Specialized Prosecution for Administrative Corruption (Pepca), conducted a series of raids in the National District and Punta Cana related to the case. This investigation also involves Hugo Beras, former director of the National Institute of Land Transport and Terrestrial Transportation (Intrant), and businessman José Angel “Jochi” Gómez Canaan, owner of the security company Aurix S.A.S.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
El Nuevo Diario
Somos Pueblo
9 June 2025