Participación Ciudadana (PC), the Dominican Republic’s leading civil society watchdog, released a comprehensive report on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, detailing a massive corruption network under investigation at the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa).
The document, titled the “7th Report of the Observatory of Administrative Corruption Cases,” focuses exclusively on the “Santiago Hazim and Associates” case. It synthesizes a 537-page indictment from the Public Ministry into a 32-page brief aimed at helping the public understand the scale of the alleged despoilment of the nation’s health funds.
Luxury spending amidst public health crisis
The report highlights a jarring contrast between the diversion of public resources and the needs of the country’s most vulnerable citizens. According to the findings, funds intended for life-saving medical services were used to purchase luxury vehicles, high-end watches valued at over RD$5 million, and bottles of whiskey exceeding RD$100,000 each.
“It wounds the sensitivity of even the strongest to see health sector funds distracted for such excesses,” the report stated, noting that SeNaSa’s reputation as a model of management began to deteriorate immediately following the appointment of Santiago Hazim in 2020.
A “criminal structure” of bribes and paundering
The Public Ministry’s investigation, as cited by PC, describes the creation of an “organized crime structure” designed to obstruct transparency and funnel money through fraudulent programs.
Key allegations in the report include:
• Systemic bribes: Total bribes attributed to the scheme exceed RD$4 billion.
• The “Nutrisalud” scheme: Investigators documented a continuous bribery system involving the NutriSalud program, with cash deliveries and transfers totaling over RD$1.165 billion by 2024.
• Primary care monopoly: A single business group allegedly monopolized primary care services through irregular contracts, generating an additional RD$1.62 billion in kickbacks.
• Shell companies: The use of “paper companies” to facilitate money laundering and hide the origin of illicit funds.
Financial manipulation
The report further alleges that the administration engaged in a systematic effort to “alter and falsify financial statements” to hide the institution’s true fiscal health. An internal commission later discovered a hidden deficit of over RD$14.34 billion that had been omitted from official reports sent to regulators.
Prosecutors estimate that Santiago Hazim personally accrued approximately RD$2.88 billion in illicit income through these mechanisms.
Calls for accountability
During the report’s presentation, Leidy Blanco García, General Coordinator of Participación Ciudadana, emphasized the human cost of administrative corruption.
“Every mismanaged peso and every opaque decision translates into deficient services, medicines that never arrive, and postponed treatments,” Blanco García said. “This case raises serious questions about the responsibility of those managing funds meant to guarantee medical care for our society’s most vulnerable.”
Francisco “Pancho” Álvarez, a member of PC’s national council, added that these reports are vital for dismantling the “complicated webs of corruption” so that citizens can more easily demand an end to impunity.
The case involves multiple legal charges, including corruption, coalition of officials, embezzlement, fraud against the state, and money laundering.
Read more in Spanish:
Participacion Ciudadana
Diario Libre
CDN
28 January 2026