Inabie director addresses contract fraud and irregularities

Adolfo Pérez De León, the executive director of the National Institute of Student Welfare (Inabie), stated that his mandate is to correct inherited institutional issues rather than evade responsibility for them. Appointed by President Luis Abinader, Pérez De León is addressing irregularities following the cancellation of several contracts for uniforms and footwear.

The director detailed a fraudulent scheme used by suppliers to bypass technical evaluations. Under this method, providers would set up fully equipped mobile kitchens in one province to pass inspections, only to move the same equipment to a different province to participate in subsequent evaluations.

Following a nationwide verification of productive units, the institution confirmed 14 cases of this practice, involving 12 mobile kitchens and two bakeries. Pérez De León emphasized that he personally ordered the cancellation of these contracts after discovering the fraud.