Virzi links loom over suspended judge investigation

Virzi business links loom over suspended judge investigation
THE WEB of investigations into the financial background of suspended Panama Supreme Court Judge Alejandro Moncada Luna, which began last October over the purchase of two apartments for 1.7 million, continues to expand, and recent developments point increasingly to the figure of, Alejandro Pipo Virzi as a key player.

Virzi, a former vice president of the country, a businessman and member of ex-president’s famed zero circle Ricardo Martinelli, has repeatedly been mentioned in the procedures followed in the National Assembly.
At first it was thought that Virzi was only mentioned as the person who loaned $700,000 to the judge to purchase the apartment in the PH Santorini, as stated by the investigation itself, but the links of the businessman with the investigations conducted against Moncada Luna continue to appear reports La Prensa
In some of the interviews with witnesses in the case made by the deputy and prosecutor Pedro Miguel Gonzalez, who heads the process, the name of Pipo Virzi pops up.
The first doubts surfaced when in an interview with the prosecutor, on Friday December 5 this changed his story in the sense that it was not $700,000 he loaned Moncada Luna, but $1.8 million, reports La Prensa,
In October, before the National Assembly began its hearing into charges of unjust enrichment, money laundering, forgery of public documents and public corruption, Moncada Luna gave statements to Panama America on the purchase of two apartments costing $1,724, 200.
He stated that he asked a loan of $ 700,000 without interest from – one of the members of the Martinelli “zero circle”, Felipe Pipo Virzi, whom he called his “uncle”.
A month later, on November 20, in Veraguas, Virzi said it was “true” that the loan of money was made and that it would have been used to purchase an apartment .
However, Virzi said “what hurt me was that he [Moncada Luna] put me in front as a shield” when he was accused of unjustified enrichment.
The prosecution also has doubt about the on the loan agreement document between Virzi and Moncada Luna, which was delivered by his former lawyer Sidney Sitton, who recently withdrew from the case.
But Virzi has not been mentioned only in the case of the interest free loan to the suspended judge. In the course of investigations, the prosecutor González has seized several bank accounts of more than a dozen companies, some of these belonging to the ex-vice-president..
Seizures have been made as, according to the prosecutor, some of the companies transferred considerable sums of money to other companies related to Moncada Luna.
Although the names of some of the companies are known it was not known until recently that they were Virzi owned.
It was not until last Tuesday, during the second control hearing conducted by the judges of guarantees Katleen Levy Garcia, Zulay Rodríguez and Ana Martilde Gómez, when the lawyer José María Castillo reported that he was acting on behalf of some companies belonging “in whole or in part” to Virzi.
“I represent companies that are owned in whole or in part by engineer Felipe Virzi, some of these are: Summer Venture Inc., SA and Rica Foundation, but another four are waiting for the prosecutor to give to me the power to represent them “said Castillo.
The prosecutor seized bank accounts of Summer Venture Inc., RicaAbout Foundation, both related to Virzi and a third call Medipres Investments, SA
All had deposits in the Universal Bank, owned by the Virzi family.