# Dominican judge orders preventive prison for seven in $250 million corruption probe
A Dominican Republic judge sent seven former officials to preventive prison as prosecutors investigate a broad corruption case tied to the health insurance agency.
A judge in the Dominican Republic ordered seven former government officials into more than a year of preventive prison on the event date as prosecutors continued investigating a $250 million corruption case involving the country’s health insurance agency. The decision marks one of the strongest early judicial steps in a case officials describe as the most serious corruption operation prosecutors have presented so far.
At least 10 people have been arrested in the case, including Santiago Hazim Albainy, who was appointed executive director of the National Health Insurance agency in August 2020 and is accused of leading the alleged scheme. Prosecutors say Hazim and other officials accepted more than $31 million in bribes from representatives of medical groups in exchange for contracts for services that were falsely billed as having been provided to people who were already dead or for expensive procedures that never happened.
The National Health Insurance agency serves more than 7 million Dominicans, which is one reason the allegations have drawn such strong public reaction. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse ahead of Sunday’s ruling, carrying signs about the struggles their families had faced with the agency and singing the national anthem. The case has become about more than corruption alone; it has also become a test of public confidence in a system that touches a large share of the population.
Judge Rigoberto Sena Ferreras said that accepting public office with the aim of draining it in collusion with business interests amounted to high treason against the nation. Prosecutor Mirna Ortiz said the case was the most serious corruption operation her office had presented to date and described the theft as money taken from health insurance for the poorest Dominicans. Three additional suspects, including businessman Eduardo Read Estrella and two private-sector executives, were placed under house arrest.
The judge gave prosecutors eight months to complete their investigation. The defendants face accusations including collusion, bribery, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. One defense lawyer said his client should not be jailed because of health issues, while another said his client was cooperating. The case now moves into a longer investigative phase, but the preventive prison order signals that the court sees the allegations as serious enough to justify immediate restraint while the evidence is developed.
