Spy equipment a $11.5 million rip off
THE ISRAELI spy equipment acquired by the government of Ricardo Martinelli in mid-2010 for $13.5 million, and which today has disappeared, was a near $11.5 million cost overrun.
This was revealed by a La Prensa source close to the complaint filed by the Security Council over the disappearance of the equipment, who said its market value is around $2million.That is, almost six times less than that paid by the Martinelli administration.
According to the source, the Israeli company Protection MLM that signed the contract with the National Assistance Program (PAN) acted as an intermediary and added over 575% of the original value of the product in the transaction with the Panamanian government.
“The machine was sold at market price from manufacturer to supplier and then the Israeli supplier sold it to the PAN at a premium,” said the source.
The eqipment consisted of three systems that allowing operators to infiltrate computers, telephone networks and capture personal conversations.
Demetrio Papdimitriu, Minister of the Presidency at the time the equipment was purchased, confirmed that it worked and was used.