The Panel of Independent Special Prosecutors (FEI) announced that Roberto Lefranc Fortuño, deputy secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), has been added to the list of officials under investigation in an ongoing probe into irregularities at the agency, part of Governor Jenniffer González Colón's administration. The Panel approved a resolution following a request from special prosecutors Fabiola Acarón Porrata-Doria, Ileana Agudo Calderón and Arcelio A. Maldonado Avilés II, who said Lefranc Fortuño's name emerged in witness testimony and asked to expand the inquiry to determine possible criminal responsibility.
The Panel said it would not comment further while the investigation is ongoing. Others already under investigation include former DDEC secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard, former La Fortaleza chief of staff Francisco Domenech, former OGPe assistant secretary Norberto Almodóvar Vélez, former OGPe chief of staff Charlene Neuman Rivera, and La Fortaleza deputy secretary Itza García. The scandal began last summer when Negrón Reichard accused Domenech of pressuring him to award an advertising contract to JJ Investment and of intervening on behalf of tax decrees for the Opus Miramar project, tied to Domenech's former lobbying firm, Politank.
The JJ Investment contract was reportedly to be paid using federal funds held by the Office of Management and Budget (OGP).