Bolivian Minister Arrested on Suspicion of Buying Overpriced Ventilators

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivia’s Minister of Health, Marcelo Navajas, was arrested on Wednesday, May 20th, and removed from office for involvement in an alleged overbilling scheme in the purchase of 170 ventilators from a Spanish company, acquired for the treatment of the novel coronavirus.

He was arrested and gave his testimony at the Special Force Against Crime’s (FELCC) headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia. Four other cabinet officials were also arrested and removed from office.

The ventilators were said to have been purchased for three times the regular cost, paid for by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The Bolivian state paid US$4.7 million to an intermediary company that, according to the manufacturer, cost US$1.4 million. In addition to being over-invoiced, the equipment failed to meet the requirements.

Eidy Roca, the vice-minister of Health and Promotion, took over as interim Minister.

According to Álvaro Coimbra, Minister of Justice, all people involved in the procurement process will be investigated. On Wednesday, the Director of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Health, Fernando Valenzuela, and the director of the Health Infrastructure and Medical Equipment Agency (AISEM), Giovanni Pacheco, were also arrested.

According to Coimbra, the Ministry of Health applied for the ventilators, and AISEM, which was responsible for the procurement procedure, should have observed the reference prices. “The indignation is that the equipment was bought three times its cost and there are people from the government involved in this, which is unforgivable. It seems that this was intentional,” Coimbra said.

Before the contract for the purchase of 170 ventilators was signed, Giovanni Pacheco, director of AISEM, received a technical report advising the equipment did not meet the technical specifications recommended by the Pan American Health Organization or the World Health Organization. Despite the notice, the material was purportedly purchased with the authorization of the Minister of Health, Marcelo Navajas.

In a statement, the Inter-American Development Bank called for “public sanctions against companies and individuals who use practices prohibited in Bank-financed bids,” and held the Bolivian government liable for the purchase.

The FELCC’s director, Iván Rojas, said the investigation is well advanced. “The work is being conducted following a line of transparency, and we will continue to call on people who have some link or connection to the facts.”

Bolivia, with a population of 11.3 million, records 4,919 confirmed cases and 199 deaths by Covid-19 to date.

Source: Agência Brasil