La Paz, Mar 20 (EFE).– The president of the state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), Yussef Akly, denounced on Friday an alleged embezzlement of 1 billion bolivianos (approximately 144 million dollars), implicating Marcelo Arce, son of former President Luis Arce (2020-2025).
Akly explained at a press conference that an internal audit identified irregularities in two contracts for the purchase of soybean oil intended for biodiesel production, in which millions of dollars in advance payments were allegedly made without any return to the state-owned company.
“It’s more than 1 billion bolivianos in advance payments with no return for the company,” he stated, indicating that these funds were channeled to the company Indueste, which only fulfilled 17.3% of the committed volume.
According to the head of YPFB, the investigation uncovered a structure that utilized the state company as a “financial bridge” to transfer resources and structure contracts, which he said directly benefited the family of former President Arce.
He indicated that, following Marcelo Arce’s arrest on Wednesday, the existence of money, YPFB documents, and other items related to the state-owned company was verified.
The president of YPFB maintained that the contracts were designed to guarantee the supply of vegetable oil, but they were not executed as stipulated, resulting in significant financial losses.
According to the audit, the irregularities included modifying internal guarantee regulations before the contracts were signed, which allowed for the disbursement of advance payments without sufficient backing.
The first contract, awarded in April 2024, stipulated disbursements of more than 400 million bolivianos, while a second contract, signed months later, involved nearly 600 million more under similar conditions.
The manager of YPFB Refinación, Aquiles Pfeiffer, stated that there is documented evidence of these modifications and asserted that neither contract had sufficient guarantees to cover the amounts disbursed.
In light of these findings, the state-owned company filed a criminal complaint against Indueste and 14 individuals from the previous YPFB administration for detrimental contracts, breach of contract, and uneconomical conduct.
The head of YPFB stated that these practices affected the company’s operations, as it is currently functioning at 30% capacity, leading to greater dependence on fuel imports.
In December, President Rodrigo Paz removed the subsidy for Bolivian fuel after almost 20 years.
Former President Luis Arce (2020-2025) has been in pretrial detention since late 2025, under investigation for a corruption case stemming from his time as Minister of Economy in the government of Evo Morales (2006-2019). EFE
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