Nine major cases of mismanagement and corruption in the Luis Abinader administration

Santo Domingo, DR— Although there have been reports of situations that have tainted the management of President Luis Abinader’s administration, at least nine major scandals of mismanagement and corruption in public institutions have come to light, which in some cases have resulted in the dismissal of officials, imprisonment for those involved, or no punishment at all.

Among the high-profile cases of mismanagement that have not led to criminal prosecution are the theft of data from the Ministry of Public Health on people who received COVID-19 vaccinations; the sale of “appointments,” which also led to the dismissal of the institution’s Human Resources Director; and the shortage of medications in the Essential Medication Program and Logistics Support Center (Promese/CAL).

The accusations against Roberto Fulcar over the acquisition of digital books; the cancellation of bidding processes at the National Institute of Student Welfare (INABIE) due to irregularities; the multiple allegations of fraud and glitches in the electronic toll collection system “Paso Rápido”; the dismissal of security personnel at the Ministry of Agriculture, who allegedly took “money that was meant to be distributed among other employees,” but who also appear to have received large loans from the Agricultural Support Program, among other scandals that have plagued this administration.

Then there’s Bartolomé Pujals, former director of the Government Information Technology Office (OGTIC), who was embroiled in at least three scandals during his administration. The first involved hiring a Twitter user for over 6 million pesos to create projects, but none of them were ever carried out; and the discrediting of an employee on social media who accused the institution of selling weapons and of renting a new building for millions of dollars, among other complaints about bidding.

Bartolomé Pujals is currently the Dominican Republic’s ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Beyond these allegations, there have been at least nine scandals of mismanagement or public corruption since 2025 that have resulted in criminal consequences or the dismissal of officials. Except for the money given to artists and the Christmas bonuses in the Supérate Program, the latter evidenced a lack of control in the allocation of those who deserved the card, and never resulted in criminal consequences.

Senasa

The latest case of administrative corruption came to light several weeks ago, although it was only this Saturday that the government announced it had submitted a report to the Attorney General’s Office containing significant irregularities in the National Health Insurance system, for investigation.

This involves Santiago Hazim’s administration at the head of Senasa, and various contracts for the purchase of medicines, management of primary care, among others.

Although the Government has not specified the findings of its investigation, several reports indicate that, from 2020 to the present, the Government has paid more than 65 million pesos per month in at least one contract, without the need for the service to be offered for primary care.

These large-scale frauds also included a “parallel call center” that managed authorizations for employees.

In addition, on August 15, the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) reported that it had declared a Senasa contract with the company Farmacard, SRL, null and void for violating the provisions of Law No. 340-06 on Public Procurement and Contracting and its amendments. This was due to the finding that the procedure was carried out outside the regulations, violating essential principles such as legality, due process, equality, free competition, transparency, and publicity.

“This morning, the Superintendent of Health and Occupational Risks (Sisaril), Miguel Ceara Hatton, and the Executive Director of the National Health Insurance (Senasa), Edward Guzmán, are before the Attorney General’s Office to formally submit a report containing serious findings of irregularities detected in the course of their duties,” explained Félix Reyna this Saturday morning at a press conference at the National Palace.

Hugo Beras

A traffic light blackout at the end of August 2024, which caused widespread chaos in the capital, uncovered an administrative corruption scandal that led to the imprisonment of the former director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intant), Hugo Beras, and implicated him in an administrative corruption case known as “Camaleón,” in which he was sentenced to 18 months of preventive detention as a coercive measure.

This sentence was changed approximately a month later, allowing him to continue his radio show.

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Beras directed and authorized the “fraudulent awarding of multi-million-dollar contracts” to Transcore Latam and Aurix, owned by José Gómez-Canaan (Jochi Gómez), companies that lacked the required technical capabilities, thereby engaging in criminal conspiracy, fraud against the State, embezzlement, and collusion with officials, among other activities.

Although the case is still under investigation, little is currently known about it.

Passports

Poor administration at the General Passport Directorate resulted in the appointment of three administrators, as well as long lines to obtain the document, appointments lasting several months, and a shortage of stamps.

Néstor Cruz Pichardo was the first director of this entity and the one who presented the greatest management problems. He was removed in 2023 due to long lines and a lack of stamps. He was followed by Digna Reynoso de Pachecho, wife of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

Although complaints decreased under his administration, users continued to complain about long lines and constant problems obtaining documents.

The current director of passports is Lorenzo David Ramírez Uribe.

Improve yourself

In 2022, it became apparent that social assistance cards had been cloned, resulting in the loss of approximately 100 million pesos from the state and the country’s poorest citizens. This led to the decision to replace magnetic stripe cards with chip cards. Reports of cloning and seizures with large quantities of cards continued into 2023, leading to several people outside the government’s jurisdiction being jailed, serving sentences of up to eight years.

The latest scandal occurred in 2024, involving 3.5 million Christmas Bonus vouchers for vulnerable households, known as the 1,500-peso Christmas Bonus. Among the beneficiaries were prominent public figures such as Leonel Fernández and other prominent current and former officials. 

As a result, the beneficiary verification platform was shut down and never re-enabled.

Youth

Luz del Alba Jiménez, who served as Minister of Youth, was removed from her duties following an investigation initiated by the Directorate of Purchasing and Contracting, which uncovered allegations that she allegedly intended to benefit two companies in bidding processes worth RD$3 million in 2021.

The progress of the investigation and whether Alba’s actions actually corresponded to administrative corruption remained unknown.

Two years later, in February 2023, President Luis Abinader appointed her vice consul at the Dominican Republic Consulate in Barcelona. Due to public pressure, the president canceled this appointment.

Iposdom

On October 30, 2021, following a report by journalist Nuria Piera, the director of the Dominican Postal Institute (Inposdom), Adán Peguero, was charged with acts of corruption following a contract with the international company Mia Cargo.

The official was interrogated several times by Wilson Camacho and Yeni Berenice Reynoso, the latter of whom was then director of the Public Prosecution Service.

Peguero took a leave of absence and was later removed from his duties.

In 2023, he requested that the Public Ministry and the Director of Ethics and Government Integrity, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, explain to the country the results of an investigation conducted against him.

“The Public Ministry and Milagros Ortiz Bosch @OrtizBosch must explain to the country the outcome of the investigation conducted against me. This is affecting my family and my career. I don’t believe I deserve the treatment I’m receiving,” she wrote on her X account.

Neney Cabrera

In 2022, journalist Alicia Ortega conducted a report that exposed alleged irregularities committed by Neney Cabrera at the head of the General Directorate of Strategic and Special Projects of the Presidency (Propeep), through the program “Paint Your Neighborhood at Christmas.”

The investigation revealed that companies that appear to be shell companies or linked to each other participated in the bidding process. Cabrera denied any misconduct during his administration.

In 2023, he was appointed Minister of State without Portfolio.

Lottery

A fraudulent drawing on May 1, 2021, at the National Lottery led to the imprisonment of 10 people, including its administrator, Luis Maisichell Dicent, under coercive measures.

The Second Collegiate Court of the National District acquitted the former administrator of the National Lottery due to a lack of evidence linking him to the fraud, although it convicted seven other people.

Guaba Rock

In the midst of the pandemic, at Christmas 2020, Francisco (Tony) Peña Guaba, coordinator of the Social Policy Cabinet, delivered approximately RD$100 million in checks to 67 artists as financial support from the government. In return, they would perform in virtual concerts in the future.

In response, the General Directorate of Public Procurement recommended the application of administrative sanctions to the officials involved in the hiring of 55 artists for more than RD$55.6 million, determining that the contract was signed without following due process.