Low bids disqualified in new corruption scandal
CONTRACTORS who submitted lower prices when bidding on water and sewer projects in Panama were often disqualified while the job went to a Spanish company, now the center of a new Panama bribery scandal.
Contracts granted to the Inter American Water and Services Company (Inassa) between 2010 and 2015 are being investigated in Spain for possible corruption.
In the investigation, called the “Lezo case,” the manager of Inassa, Javier Domínguez, is identified as “directly responsible for the payment of bribes to civil servants.”
An investigation of emails to Inassa reveals that the practice was also being carried out in the Dominican Republic.
The investigating judge points out that “there is no doubt” that “corrupt” contracting mechanisms were used frequently in other public contracts in Panama, where intermediaries have been used to acquire contracts.
The investigation has identified the alleged payment of bribes to officials of the National Council for Sustainable Development (Conades) and for the construction of the sanitary sewer system in La Pintada, Coclé province, reports La Prensa
