The Tarot Club
The Tarot Club is a group of Chinese companies, located in Peru, that used an illegal service in order to obtain public bids. This service allowed the companies to gain knowledge of the proposals submitted by their competitors and, by doing so, to submit better bids to ensure a successful outcome. The service is called Tarot, and this group of companies gets its name because they all used this computer service to breach the Peruvian Electronic State Contracting System (SEACE) to find out in advance which projects had been submitted to the State for bids.
An example of this is reflected in the case of the Hospital del Altiplano consortium, created by the Chinese companies Weihai Construction Group Company Limited and China Railway N° 10 Engineering Group Co. The consortium created for the construction project of the same name, presented its bid at the last minute, and at a lower price than all the others (thanks to the Tarot), allowing it to win the tender. Despite all the allegations of irregularities, many of these companies continue to operate without restrictions or sanctions, as is the case of Weihan construction, which is still pursuing contracts with the Peruvian State. Another example of corruption carried out by Chinese companies in Latin America is the case of China CHEC in Bolivia, which recently fired its representative in Bolivia, Jin Zhengyuan, for irregular payment of bribes to obtain contracts with the State.
Top headline:
La República (Peru): Empresa china del Club del Tarot sigue operando pese a denuncias en Fiscalía y Congreso.
Find out more:
Página Siete (Bolivia): China CHEC confirma irregularidades en caso ABC y destituye a su gerente en Bolivia.