In the last decade, the Pan Amazon has seen a substantial increase in the presence of Chinese companies, either as direct investors or as contractors building infrastructure for governments financed by loans from China. The lack of transparency that characterizes their homeland fosters an environment that allows Chinese companies to escape scrutiny. Many analysts assume their contracts have been tainted by bribes and kickbacks, an assumption based on Chinese and Latin American reputations for corruption. Very few scandals have been exposed by the press, however, and most of the purported malfeasance is based on conjecture of what constitutes a good deal and a fair price. Nevertheless, there are several exceptions. In 2016, an unusual set of circumstances revealed a bribery network in Bolivia that linked a major Chinese construction company with functionaries in the Bolivian government. China CAMC Engineering (CAMC), a subsidiary of the China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH), had signed contracts with the Bolivian government for approximately US$ 576 million, including: The sale of three oil drilling rigs in 2009 to the state-owned Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) for US$ 60 million. The design and construction of a sugar mill in San Buenaventura, La Paz, for a state-owned commodity company (Empresa Azucarera San Buenaventura) for US$ 167 million in 2012. The construction of the Bulo Bulo–Montero railway to connect the rail network with a urea factory in the Chapare, a project that was abandoned in 2015 after the company received a down payment of US$ 20 million on…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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