Martinelli,Controller behind spy equipment scandal

FORMER PRESIDENT Ricardo Martinelli was the key person behind the  2010 purchase of Israeli spying equipment  that cost the state $13.4 million  and created a

1984” Orwellian environment in Panama for those outside of the president’s pale.

On Thursday, November 11, La Prensa published copies of contracts for the spying equipment and training programs for its operators and gave a detailed revelation of who ordered it  and  how it was paid for.

 The contract No. 45 of 2010 reveals that the transaction was approved on May 19, 2010 by the board of the Social Investment Fund (FIS) -now National Assistance Program (PAN) – then composed of Martinelli as agent, a representative of the National Assembly, three citizens appointed by Martinelli and Giacomo Tamburrelli, as Director of the FIS.

The document, endorsed on 23 July 2010 by the Comptroller General of the Republic, states that the device was capable of operating in three areas: computer surveillance, positioning system and infiltration telephone networks, and speech acquisition and interpretation.

In the contract, the Israeli company M.L.M. Protection undertook the supply, installation, training and maintenance of thes spy system, whose scope included infiltration of the database of telephone networks, psychological analysis of voice tones, and a infection module  to the Microsoft Word program, and  several other components.

Martinelli did not answer calls made by La Prensa on  Wednesday  

At first glance, the contract seems innocent 45, 2010: “Supply of technological equipment, installation service, training and maintenance,” says his title. But each section contains the methods for use by the government of Ricardo Martinelli to spy on phones, computers and conversations.

This is the system of long-range surveillance Martinelli acquired for $13.4 million with the aim of establishing a spy network that documented weekly activities of his  targets, and which has now disappeared

“The PSS agents will be installed silently on the target computers using one of the infectionmethods supplied They will always be kept hidden, using various modes of concealment, “the contract, signed in 2010 by Giacomo Tamburrelli, director of the Social Investment Fund (FIS) and Ofer Bar, representative of the Israeli company MLM Protection.

Below these two firms, appears the comptroller Gioconda Torres de Bianchini, who ratified the document on July 23, 2010 without any objection.

The suggestion for the purchase of the equipment came from the the Israeli company own MLM Protection, contracted at that time to coach and train agents Institutional Protection Service (SPI) in charge of security Martinelli.

According to the former Minister of the Presidency Demetrio Papadimitriu, the company proposed to buy him the equipment to meet any national security crisis.

On May 19, 2010, the board of FIS-then converted to the National Assistance Program (PAN) – approved the purchase of a new computer. That directive was controlled by the President.  

From that moment, the Israeli company  together with a group of five officials of the National Security Council, began to stalk the targets identified by higher orders, and render a report every Monday to Martinelli.

Of that group, William Pittí and Rony Rodriguez have not been located by authorities, while Reynaldo Diaz works with Martinelli

In the first part of the contract, M.L.M. Protection is committed to install, train and maintain a surveillance of personal computers in order to collect information routinely maintain covert operation, and avoid physical contact with the target.

“These agents receive commands from the operator to acquire the required data from the target, using the supplied acquisition modules such as query files, audio capture, keylogger and many more,” says the document.

The contract included training for recording Skype communications and microphone, and an interception module for the  Microsoft Word program. That module cost  3 million.

The following commitment of the Israeli company was to provide the positioning system “Circles”, with which the device could intercept telephone communications and the exchange of messages between these devices. For this service, Martinelli’s government spent $7.3 million.

It consisted of a modular system with analysis algorithms, databases and mappers to infiltrate any mobile network. It was built in a GSM platform, for  second generation cellular functions. However, it had extensions to run on later models (smartphones).

The system also possessed the ability to infiltrate central information telephone networks using SS7 ports. That is, it  captured a name and a telephone database of telephone companies, and immediately executed the spy system.

VOICES OVERHEARD
The third service contract, which cost $1.6 million, was a voice biometric software that could run off-line and in real time. It included an automated filtration system that analyzed individual psychophysiological reactions to stimuli by artificial intelligence algorithms. In other words, apart from capturing the conversation, the team could develop a psychological analysis of the target by its physical behavior or his tone. It also  gathered fingerprints and scanned documents.

The contract also included a suspect detector system, for $220,000, and service intelligence consultant for two years, for $1.2 million.

All progress, must be reported to the Ministry of the Presidency said the report

PAYMENTS
Payments to the Israeli company were made on three dates through Citibank as an intermediary bank and the Banco de Occidente (Western Bank Barbados) located in Colombia, as the recipient Although the company was to receive the payment was MLM or, failing that, Ofer Bar as the legal representative of the Israeli society, the beneficiarywas the accompany listed as Nunvav.

According to the Public Registry of Panama, Nunvav consists of Natan Wancier (President), Félix Valencia Maldonado (vice president and treasurer) and Roberto Silvestri (secretary). The resident agent was Carreira Pitti. The first payment was August 30, 2010 in the amount of $ 3,258557. The second was December 10, 2010, for $ 5 430 000 928; and the third and last payment was April 29, 2011, for$2,172 371.

All payments were signed by Tamburrelli as head of the FIS, and  by the comptroller.

Made the payments, the former director of the Administrative Office of the President Carlos Orillac was informed by Fidelina of Melais, then manager of the National Bank governmental area, regarding transfers made.

INVISIBLE EQUIPMENT
The public learned of the equipment  after Rolando López,  current director of the Security Council, reported its disappearance to his predecessor, Alejandro Garuz, related by marriage to Martinelli, and

to the Second Anticorruption prosecutor.  Garuz says he never saw such a device and  even organized a press conference in which he said he had a “clean” conscienceand “no worries”.