Panama hiring Italy law firm to watch Lavitola trials

PANAMA’S Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be hiring a law firm in Italy to represent Panama in the various court cases involving contracts issued by the previous government. The decision was reached by the Cabinet Council on Wednesday July 2.

The measure was proposed by Minister of Security Rodolfo Aguilera, who said he had access to information about the cases during the transition period between the current and previous administrations.
“I make this request because, during the transition period, I had access to information that relates to the contracts. I have noticed that several prosecutors from Italy have begun investigations to determine if the crime of international corruption was committed,” said Aguilera during the Council meeting in San Miguelito.
In an explanatory memorandum, the minister also said that several Italian prosecutors have launched investigations to see if there was extortion or other offenses committed against the company Impregilo over the construction of a hospital in the province of Veraguas that had been promised in 2010 by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
“Unfortunately, to have more information: it is necessary to read the minutes of the hearings in Rome,” he said, justifying the hiring of the law firm.
Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel Saint Malo said that the issue is of state interest and that the ministry would be able to take immediate action through its Italian embassy.
The initiative goes in the opposite direction to the stance adopted by the government of Ricardo Martinelli, which issued the contracts in question. Martinelli repeatedly mocked the investigations, comparing them to Italian novelas (soap operas), reports La Prensa.