The crisis at the Nucleoeléctrica Argentina (NA-SA) state nuclear power agency has entered into a new phase. After internal complaints were presented to the state firm’s Integrity Council for presumed irregularities in contracting cleaning services, the board of the nuclear agency decided to remove two officials previously appointed by the company’s president Demian Reidel.
Yet far from being contained, the situation continues to escalate. Perfil revealed the initial allegations earlier this month and now has access to a presentation to federal courts lodged before the conflict became public knowledge. The lawsuit adds a worrying antecedent – it includes a warning about tenders possibly being steered towards favoured firms.
The case triggering the scandal was the tender for cleaning services for nuclear plants. As revealed by Perfil earlier this month, an internal complaint warned that a company called LX Argentina could win the race with an offer over 140 percent more than the historic cost of the service and the reference prices used by the company itself. The presentation, signed by the manager of the Atucha I-II nuclear plant, Juan Pablo Nolasco Sáenz, described internal pressures, attempts to rewrite technical reports and a process which, if successful, would have implied significant economic damage for NASA.
In that context, the board of directors resolved to halt the contract, firing Nucleoeléctrica Argentina’s general manager Marcelo Famá and the manager of Administrative Coordination, Hernán Pantuso – two men trusted by Reidel.
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