SANTO DOMINGO. – Hugo Beras, former director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant), businessman José Ángel Gómez Canaán (Jochi), and former Information Technology Director Samuel Gregorio Baquero Sepulveda were arrested last night amid an investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office into alleged irregularities in the contracting for the Traffic Light Network of Greater Santo Domingo.
Beras was arrested after a raid carried out at his residence, located in the Piantini district of the Dominican capital, which lasted for more than two hours, his lawyer Laura Acosta reported.
Hours earlier, José Ángel Gómez Canaán (Jochi) was arrested at the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Administrative Corruption (Pepca), after being interrogated for more than four hours.
Meanwhile, the former Director of Information Technology at Intrant was also arrested by several prosecutors following a raid on his residence Wednesday night. According to Listín Diario, Baquero Sepúlveda was taken to "La Carcelita," a holding cell located in the basement of the Attorney General's Office. It was reported that the February payroll showed the executive earning RD$10,000.00; however, records indicate that his salary through January 2024 was RD$150,000.00.
The contract that Intrant signed with the company Transcore Latam for the modernization, expansion, supervision and management of the comprehensive system of the Traffic Control Center and the Traffic Light Network of Greater Santo Domingo, involves 1,317 million pesos.
Complaint from Laura Acosta
Prosecutor Hector Garcia led the raid on Beras's house, located in the Juan Antonio XVI tower, in Piantini, National District, according to Acosta, who complained that the representatives of the Public Ministry refused to show the search warrant or the arrest order against his client.
“This could have been the right thing to do, but (the prosecutors) refused to show us the arrest warrant, nor did they ask Hugo or me to sign the search warrant,” the lawyer said, according to the Diario Libre publication.
Acosta complained, alleging that the Public Prosecutor's actions were "a completely unnecessary abuse." "They simply needed to allow his lawyers to go up and see the judge's orders and assist him. It's a constitutional right. The Public Prosecutor has the power to search and arrest whomever it deems necessary, but never to prevent someone from being assisted by their lawyer," he added.
The lawyer stated that the evidence seized by the prosecution lacks legal value, because she believes that her client's rights were violated.
Beras was transferred to the Attorney General's Office after 11 p.m. Wednesday night, under heavy security. The former official was removed from his apartment via the underground parking garage, so the press was unable to obtain any images of the moment.
At least two vehicles belonging to Beras were seized and removed from the residential complex by agents of the National Police.
After a year, Beras referred to the case
After more than a year of having requested a leave of absence from his position as director of Intrant due to alleged irregularities in the traffic light system contract that the official institution signed with the company Transcore Latam, Beras participated yesterday in the program Zol de la Mañana in which he gave details of the process and commented that he was "collateral damage", in addition to having stated that the State's control systems failed, referring to the General Directorate of Public Procurement, which is headed by Carlos Pimentel.
“To hold a bidding process, the General Directorate of Public Procurement has to validate everything. To sign a contract, we have an internal control unit of the Comptroller's Office that has to validate it,” he said.
He stated that "the first thing he did" was to step away "from everything related" to Purchasing and Contracting, "for reasons of responsibility," after claiming that this is not his area of expertise.
Jochi Gómez said: “I came to defend myself”
Businessman José Ángel Gómez Canaán – Jochi Gómez – was detained after being questioned for more than four hours at the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Persecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) for his connection with the company that operated the traffic light network of Greater Santo Domingo under a contract with Intrant that ended up being annulled due to "serious irregularities" detected in the awarding process.
Gómez Canáan appeared yesterday at the Attorney General's Office, where the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) operates, after being summoned by the Director of Prosecution, Yeni Berenice Reynoso. It is unknown whether other prosecutors participated in the questioning.
“I came to defend myself, we’ll see,” was his brief statement to the press before being taken to the Pepca office accompanied by his lawyer Hiroíto Reyes and before this appearance culminated in his arrest.
Gómez Canaán is one of the owners of Transcore Latam, the company that is under investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the request of the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP), which detected evidence of illegal activities such as falsification of documents, diffuse shareholding structure, suspicious shareholder movements, and irregularities in the contracting process that allowed this company to be awarded more than 1.3 billion pesos in June 2023.
At the time, the bidders argued, through appeals, that the supplier chosen by the management of the former director of Intrant, Hugo Beras, did not meet the requirements and experience for the modernization, expansion, supervision and management of the comprehensive system of the Traffic Control Center and the traffic light network.
Due to these and other irregularities detected, the DGCP indicated that it was appropriate to sanction the officials and employees of Intrant who did not act under due process and annulled the tender in which Transcore Latam was awarded and, therefore, the contract.
It was also removed from the State Supplier Registry (RPE). Despite the fact that the DGCP suspended the contract a year ago, the company continued to operate the traffic light network.
Sabotage of traffic light network
Gómez Canaán has recently been accused by the current director of Intrant, Milton Morrison, of sabotaging the traffic light system, which caused serious chaos in the city's traffic on August 27, 28 and 29.
Gomez Canaan denied these accusations on his social media.
On September 17, during Morrison's administration, this agency initiated the process of terminating this contract.
With information from Diario Libre and Listín Diario.
