ARA San Juan: Four members of the evaluation committee of the Ministry of Defense have been prosecuted – 11/29/2018

The court has prosecuted four members of the evaluation commission of the Ministry of Defense for failure to fulfill its duties of public official, when the prior award of a Spanish company for research of the ARA San Juan submarine.

Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi accused Héctor Horisberger, Marcelo Gustavo Dip, Rogelio Alfredo García Bastitta, members of the Navy and the Air Force, and Pablo Longhi of the Defense, irregularities in the recruitment of geologists and explorers of great value SL.

The defendants are charged with the alleged offense of violation of the duties of a public official and have been seized for one million pesos.

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According to the judge, the officials "did not apply the law" upon prior award to the Spanish company of Argentine businessman Marcelo Devicenzi, who did not meet the requirements established in the specifications.

"They were very familiar with the hiring regulations and despite all the Obvious inconsistencies presented by the recommended bidder, they continued the process without rejecting the offer, "confirms the decision of the Criminal and Correctional Court No. 5.

Among the irregularities set out in the file, it is stated that "the company number of the Spanish company IGEOTEST GEOSCIENCES SL announced in advance did not coincide with the registration number" and that "the complainant found that the company's business number was linked to the Spanish company CONTROL Y PROSPECCIONES SL, which would have been insolvent since 2017 "

The case was initiated by the presentation of the lawyer Valeria Carrera, under the sponsorship of the study of Fernando Burlando, who denounced the members of the ministry in charge of Oscar Aguad, which constitute the Office of the Procurement of the "adulteration of a public instrument, ideological lie and breach of duty of a public official, fraud to the detriment of the public administration".

The government finally awarded the call for bids to the company Ocean Infinity, which was detected a year and after the last contact of the ship 900 meters from the bottom.