Operation Cobra: Prosecution accuses former Senasa officials of using social program for alleged bribes

Santo Domingo. – The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) presented new details about the investigation Operation Cobra, in which several former officials and businessmen are accused of forming an alleged corruption network within Senasa.

According to the file, the then-executive director Santiago Marcelo Hazim Albainy would have established a sustained system of collecting bribes related to the operational continuity of the “Adulto Mayor” program. The authorities claim that the accused Cinty Acosta Sención, through the company Nutri-Med Marine Alvarado SRL, would have handled the payments destined for the official.

The Public Ministry maintains that these illegal payments were channeled with the collaboration of José Pablo Ortiz Giráldez and Germán Rafael Robles Quiñones, who allegedly used private companies to simulate fictitious commercial transactions and legitimize financial movements from funds provided by Senasa.

The file estimates at more than 1.165 billion pesos the public resources that would have been diverted through this mechanism between 2020 and 2025.

Furthermore, the accusation cites a Sisalril report that points out the lack of evaluations to measure the impact of the “Adulto Mayor” program, which, according to the Public Ministry, shows that the scheme had objectives unrelated to the well-being of the affiliates.

Authorities reiterated that the process is still ongoing, while those involved retain their constitutional right to the presumption of innocence.