Jailbird in Odebrecht case starts naming names

Santo Domingo.- Industry and Commerce minister Temístocles Montás on Thur. admitted having received contributions for three political campaigns of his party by Ángel Rondón.

In a published statement the official said that, as to the contributions, “in none of these cases, and I want to affirm this emphatically, was I told that this was an Odebrecht contribution, much less that any compensation was expected.”

“The financial support of political campaigns by entrepreneurs is a common practice in the Dominican political culture, neither prohibited nor sanctioned by our laws,” said Montás, a member of the ruling PLD Party’s top echelon, the Political Committee

The campaigns which received the contributions “were made in 2008, 2012, and 2016 and used, in their entirety, in favor of the party to which I belong, in the tasks assigned to me in these electoral campaigns: in 2008 In San Cristóbal province, in 2012, in the province of San Juan de la Maguana and in 2016 in the eastern region of the country.”

Montás, indicted for allegedly taking bribes which the company admitted having paid in the country, said the prosecution has no “evidential support” since the prosecution has yet to submit the documents sent by Brazil – or by Odebrecht – and has only explicitly cited the financing agreement for Palomino (hydroelectric dam).”

He said it was a short-term loan agreement signed by the Dominican State and the BNP Paribas bank intermediary, for the geological engineering and environmental studies, acting under the President’s authority and “in Virtue of the power granted me by the Executive Branch in 2005. The request for restrictive measures of the Justice Ministry doesn’t mention any payment in that period. ”

The statement also breaks down in a table the financing of works built by Odebrecht, and which agencies and officials signed the contracts.

The names of the officials or former officials who signed the contracts with Odebrecht:

Víctor Díaz Rúa, Gonzalo Castillo, Radhamés Segura, Vicente Bengoa, Mariano Germán, Simón Lizardo and Daniel Toribio.