Operation Chameleon: prosecutors raid locations linked to traffic light corruption scandal

Santo Domingo.- The Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a series of raids in the National District and Punta Cana as part of the ongoing investigation into Operation Chameleon, which uncovered a corruption network that defrauded the Dominican State through a contract to modernize the traffic light system in Greater Santo Domingo. The operation, coordinated by the General Directorate of Prosecution and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Administrative Corruption (Pepca), involves 15 prosecutors and includes a raid on the residence of Aquiles Jiménez.

The corruption case centers on former officials of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant), including former director Hugo Beras and José Ángel Gómez Canaán (Jochi), owner of the contracted company Aurix SAS. Other individuals under investigation include Frank Díaz Warden, former dispatch coordinator; Samuel Gregorio Baquero Sepúlveda, former director of technology; Pedro Vinicio Padovani Báez, former head of the Traffic Control Center; Juan Francisco Álvarez Carbuccia, administrative and financial director; and Carlos José Peguero Vargas. The investigation aims to establish accountability in one of the most high-profile public sector corruption cases in recent years.