Colombia’s national infrastructure agency ANI has asked an arbitration court to annul Odebrecht’s concession contract for the Ruta del Sol 2 toll road concession, after the attorney general uncovered evidence of corruption in the procurement process.
Colombian authorities last week apprehended former Sen. Otto Nicolas Bula and accused him of accepting a $4.6m bribe in 2013 to help the Brazilian company win the contract. The attorney general has also accused Gabriel Garcia Morales, once the head of ANI’s predecessor INCO and later the vice minister of transportation, of receiving $6.5m in bribes from Odebrecht.
“We vehemently reject Odebrecht’s actions,” ANI said in a statement.
ANI said it could reopen the procurement process to complete the project if the court decides to cancel the contract. The agency added it will audit the budget for the Ocana-Gamarra section of the toll road to see if it contains any irregularities. It will also conduct an internal investigation to find any officials that may have broken the law.
Odebrecht owns 62% of the Ruta del Sol concessionaire that signed the 20-year contract in November 2014. Episol holds 33% of the concessionaire, while CSS Constructores has 5%. The COP677bn ($230m) Ruta del Sol 2 was part of the first round of Colombia’s 4G toll road concessions program.
According to a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice, Odebrecht earned more than $50m from at least $11m in bribes between 2009 and 2014. Odebrecht won three contracts during the period – the Ruta del Sol 2, the Puerto Boyaca-Chiquinquira toll road and the Rio Magdalena waterway PPP.