The Former Head of MOP Contract Administration Turned Himself In

Jorge Churro Ruiz, who was head of the contracts administration office of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) (2009-2014), turned himself in on the morning of Wednesday, October 16, to serve the prison sentence imposed on him for his participation in the Blue Apple case.  Ruiz had reached a plea agreement, validated by the then Second Judge of Liquidation of Criminal Cases, Baloisa Jarquínez, on August 22, 2023, on the first day of the trial of politicians, contractors and former officials for money laundering, corruption and falsification of documents.  That same day, Judge Marquínez also validated an agreement in favor of María Antonia Lee, Ruiz’s wife.  On November 13, Marquínez issued a ruling in which he sentenced eight people to 60 to 168 months in prison, including former Ministers of Public Works Federico Suárez and Jaime Ford, as well as the former president of the board of directors of the Caja de Ahorros (CA), Ricardo Fracolini. Ruiz is also being prosecuted in five open cases for the contracts awarded by the MOP for road reorganization: Domingo Díaz, via Brasil 1 and 2, coastal strip and the so-called “historical heritage”.