Comptroller's Office concluded that 4 Petroperú managers favored HPO in tender

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic conducted an audit of the state-owned oil company Petroperú and concluded that four of its senior officials organized a $74.4 million acquisition process of B100 biodiesel, valued at $74.4 million, to favor expressly to the national company Heaven Petroleum Operators S.A. (HPO).

Former General Manager Hugo Chavez Arevalo; former Supply Chain Manager Muslaim Abusada Sumar; former Distribution Department Manager Gunther Document Celis; and former Hydrocarbon Purchasing Department Manager Roger Liy Lion conspired to make the process specifically benefit HPO.

This company belongs to businessman Samir Abudayeh Giha, who was already in the spotlight of justice for winning a state tender after a meeting at Government Palace. Thus, the report highlighted that this purchase took place after Hugo Chávez Arevalo, Samir Abudayeh and the expert on palma espino, Gregorio Sáenz Moya, met with President Pedro Castillo. Saenz Moya also worked as an advisor to Chavez, which would explain his participation in those meetings.

Hugo Chavez had resigned from his post on March 20, pointing to technical and administrative deficiencies. However, the Comptroller's Office continued the investigations and found criminal responsibility in the four former officials. He also found administrative concern in the former environmental manager, Juan Gallarday Pretto.

THE FACTS

As found by the Comptroller's Office, Chavez would have appointed Muslaim Abusada Sumar as Supply Chain Manager to get the HPO hiring signed up.

However, the manager of this department is not empowered to intervene in these procurement processes, but Chavez authorized it. Then, Abusada produced technical reports that outlined the hiring virtually with its own name.

The officials involved in Petroperú even closed the participation of other suppliers so that only HPO remains and does not have competition in the process. The role of former officials Gunther Document and Roger Liy validated the illegal procedures of Chavez and Abusada.

The report showed that, prior to and during the execution of the process, third parties visited the Presidential Office and then the Petroperú facilities. It was even learned that one of them, Gregorio Saenz Moya, had a working relationship with Samir Abudayeh.

“The General Manager (Hugo Chavez), Supply Chain Manager (Muslaim Abusada), the Manager of the Distribution Department (Gunther Document), the Manager of the Hydrocarbon Purchasing Department (Roger Liy) and the QHSSE Manager (Juan Gallarday) participated irregularly in the proceedings of the contracting phase, since carried out activities without competence, given that they were the responsibility of the manager of the Hydrocarbon Purchasing Department in office on that date”, concluded the audit report.

Chavez denied that he had been involved in any way in the contract to HPO. Abudayeh, for his part, also said that in the meeting with President Castillo he did not discuss the process of buying Petroperú. But, due to the controversies, the contract was canceled and Petroperú called for a new tender, where Abudayeh's company won again. This time he took more than $80 million.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE

After all the unfolding of the facts and the investigation, the Comptroller's Office recommended prosecuting all those involved in the irregular events in the B100 biodiesel procurement process: the General Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Distribution Department Manager and Manager of the Hydrocarbon Purchasing Department.

“This contract was carried out without convening in parallel to an international process and without the presence of a notary public, despite this, the good pro was granted and contracts were signed by an official who did not have this power, unduly benefiting the company Heaven Petroleum Operators,” he says.

For her part, it is known that this case is also being investigated by anti-corruption prosecutor Nora Córdova, who had previously pointed out that her investigations are not reaching the president Pedro Castillo.

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