National security contracts revealed as Italian scandal widens

A day after the revelation of e-mails between close collaborators of President, Ricardo Martinelli, and a fugitive from Italian justice, the Government decided to partially disclose details of the contracts.

Contracts with Selex and AugustaWestland, providing radars and helicopters, appear on the website of the Ministry of Security headed  by Jose Raul Mulino, who 24 hours before had , reiterated that the contracts would not be  revealed because it is a national security issue. 

Mulino  shrugged of  those who has questions on  the negotiationswith Finmeccanica, the Italian conglomerate whose president has been forced to resign along with heads of some of the subsidiaries as the Italian government investigates payment of massive commissions to foreign governments and individuals.

But the information revealed  is not complete says La Prensa. Two addenda are missing. They cover regulations for the recognition of credits and the schedule for  partial payment  of the accounts. There is also  no  information on the purchase of a mapping system

 "The contract is substantial," said Mulino when asked about the omissions.

Regarding  the absence of a  contract for mapping, the Ministry of Communication of State said was no need to go public because it has not been open to question.

A day earlier the Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Presidency, Ana Belfon, presented a complaint to the public prosecutor after the leader of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party, Balbina Herrera, revealed the contents of several e-mails the exchanged with close employees of Martinelli, and the justice fugitive Valter Lavítola.

In a communication cited by Herrera, Lavítola  told Adolfo De Obarrio, private secretary to the president, that "in a year we  must have a new administrator of the Canal and  it would be good to start thinking about who might be a good candidate who  is liked by thecapo [Martinelli]. "

Other emails  betweenLavítola and the presidency related to the lucrative contracts signed by Panama with Finmeccanica.

On learning of the complaint of the palace officials, Herrera said she was not intimidated and that officials are accountable. “ I will go where I have to go because that information did not come out of the machine the President," she said.