The Municipality of Ate under Mayor Franco Vidal spent more than 34 million soles on concerts, anniversary celebrations and boxing tournaments through small direct contracts, according to a report broadcast by the Peruvian Sunday television programme Cuarto Poder.
An audit by Peru's Office of the Comptroller General (Contraloría General de la República) found that the local council disbursed 25 million soles in 2025 and an additional 10 million soles so far in 2026 for event services, with state auditors detecting multiple payments for work that was never carried out.
According to the Comptroller General's report, the municipality channelled the spending through contracts valued below eight tax reference units, known in Peru as Unidades Impositivas Tributarias (UIT).
Ate, commonly known as Ate Vitarte, is a heavily populated district on the eastern outskirts of the Peruvian capital, Lima, where the sol is the national currency. Under Peruvian public procurement law, contracts worth eight UIT or less are exempt from competitive public tenders, allowing municipal officials to issue direct service orders with fewer oversight requirements.
Direct Contracts to Former Driver Applicant
Auditors flagged a series of recurring contracts awarded to supplier Miguel Ruelas Quillatupa. Before registering as a state contractor, Ruelas Quillatupa had applied to the Municipality of Ate for a job as a driver for the serenazgo, the unarmed municipal community patrol service operated by Peruvian district councils.
Starting in May 2024, Ruelas Quillatupa received municipal service orders totalling 918,725 soles. The contracts covered the supply of portable toilets, floral arrangements, catering services and stage rentals for district events.
In its control report, the Comptroller General's Office stated that the municipality failed to prove that Ruelas Quillatupa actually delivered the contracted services, even though the council paid out the funds in full. Reporters from Cuarto Poder sought out the contractor to request his explanation, but he did not respond.
Unverified Payments in Huaycan and Ollantaytambo Coliseum
The audit also identified irregular payments tied to specific local events, including the anniversary celebration of Huaycán, a major urban community within the Ate district, and an alumni parade. In those activities, the municipality paid out 61,500 soles across eight separate service orders that the contractor never fulfilled.
Auditors noted in their report that the contractor neither provided the services nor met the conditions set out in the service orders and their attached terms of reference, known by the Spanish acronym TDR. According to the agency, those breaches resulted in improper payments that caused a financial loss of 61,500 soles to the municipality.
In a separate incident during a sports event at the Ollantaytambo Coliseum, the local government paid 3,800 soles to rent portable toilets and chairs. Auditors pointed out that the municipal venue was already equipped with permanent restrooms and spectator bleachers fitted with fixed seats.
Despite the existing facilities, municipal officials granted formal service approval without attaching any documentation to show that the requesting department had verified the work. In Peruvian municipal administration, the requesting office, or user department, must certify that goods were delivered before the treasury can release payment, yet no evidence was submitted showing that the chairs or portable toilets were ever transported to the coliseum.
Anti-Corruption Referral and Franco Vidal Response
Following the audit, the Comptroller General's Office recommended that the Anti-Corruption Public Prosecutor's Office (Procuraduría Pública Anticorrupción) file formal complaints against the municipal officials responsible for processing the irregular service orders.
The agency urged the state legal representatives to bring the case before the Specialised Prosecutor's Office for Corruption of Officials (Fiscalía Especializada en Delitos de Corrupción de Funcionarios). As Peru's supreme auditing body, the Comptroller General oversees public spending across local and national governments and refers suspected criminal wrongdoing to public prosecutors for court action.
A reporter from Cuarto Poder approached Franco Vidal during his public duties as mayor to ask for his response to the multimillion-sol spending and the audit findings. Vidal refused to answer the questions about the contracts, telling the journalist to be respectful and claiming that she was putting her hand on him.
