On his return, Jorge Lanata reported suspicious purchases at the Malbrán Institute

05/31/2020 - 22:37

• Clarín.com
• Politics

On his return to television with Periodismos Para Todos, Jorge Lanata got fully into the irregularities in the hiring in the middle of the coronavirus. And he pointed directly to the Malbrán Institute that has a central role in the pandemic because most of the tests to detect the virus are concentrated there.

In the central report of the program, Lanata revealed, together with the journalist Cecilia Boufflet, that the director of the entity, Pascual Fidelio, benefited from direct hires to the company Tecnolab SA for an amount of 100 million pesos. It was through six awards, all direct contracts without bidding for the purchase of thermocyclists and tests to detect the virus, among other products.

Malbrán's annual budget is 1,500 million pesos.

One of the biggest irregularities is that Tecnolab kept these awards despite the fact that in some cases, as they reported, it presented prices ten times higher than its competitors. One of the examples is scandalous. For the sale of 25 "nucleotides and nucleosides and Mod-6 Fam probes" he presented an offer of 839,878 pesos. Another of the competitors for the same product offered 392,500 pesos. Despite the difference, Tecnolab kept the award. "There is no animosity or interest with any distributor or supplier," Fidelio defended himself when consulted.

Fidelio is being investigated for irregularities in the award and purchase of medicines for his previous position, when he was Director of the Laboratory of Blood Products of the University of Córdoba. Although that investigation is open, the Health Minister, Ginés Gonzáles García, appointed him to manage the entity's million-dollar funds.

Tecnolab's owner is called Roberto Faivovich and used to supply the Ministry of Science and Technology. Also to the forensic medical corps that depends on the Supreme Court. but also, as reported by PPT, he was one of the suppliers of the Laboratory of Blood Products of the University of Córdoba, the previous position that Fidelio had and for which he is being investigated precisely for irregular purchases.

During the program they also recounted the business of the Minister of Health and revealed that several of his partners in the three companies that González García has were appointed to the Ministry despite having no previous experience.

One of those named as the head of the Cabinet of Advisors Unit of the Ministry of Health is his nephew Lisandro Bonelli who is a partner in Carpor SA, a company that raises pigs. The alternate director of that company, Marcelo Ariel Guille, is hired in a dependency relationship by the Ministry of Health. He is mentioned as an "expert", in the official communications parts.

Another of Ginés is Tierra de Huanaches, which is dedicated to wines. His partner Daniel López was appointed as National Director of Access to Health Services. Another partner, Eugenio Zanarini, was appointed as Superintendent of the Superintendency of Health Services. Also Hernán Alberto Barbalace as National Director of Medical Equipment and Physical Resources in Health, and "with exceptional authorization for the architect Barbalace not meeting the minimum requirements" for the position.