PAN SCANDAL: Culture funds helped create millionaires club

DOZENS OF CORPORATIONS were created during the Martinelli administration by traders and public servants to benefit from no-bid contracts with government institutions. Many of the direct orders were placed by Adolfo ‘Chichi’ Obarrio the private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli, according to the judicial declaration of former National Assistance Program director Rafael Guard Jaén.
Most corporations hid the true owners of the companies negotiated with the PAN reports a La Prensa investigation team. Instead of using their own names they hid behind the names of secretaries, employees, attorneys and family. And thus, anonymously, swelled their fortunes and created a news group of millionaires thanks to PAN.
One of these traders was Juan Carlos Marciaga, a native of Penonomé. La Prensa identified 20 companies linked to him, all created between 2009 and 2013. But when the government changed the companies were dissolved.
In just four years, these companies were instrumental in billing PAN over $70 million by selling bags of food, solar kits and rubber boots, among other items.
All were “dissolved” on May 26, 2014, just three weeks after the elections. They hired the law firm Infante & Pérez Almillano, which recorded the minutes of dissolution in the Fourth Panama Notary Circuit .Eric Britton, partner of the firm, told La Prensa that dissolving the companies was the only procedure he did … and was unaware of the activities of his client.
“We did not know who had business with the PAN,” he said, even though a simple Internet search would have revealed that since March 2013 La Prensa reported that these same companies sold food bags with at inflated prices. Everything was done through direct “invitation” contracting
This was confirmed by a witness to the Second Anti-Corruption prosecution in November 2014. ” “.
Adolfo ‘Chichi’ De Obarrio gave the orders to hire Marciaga companies with bags of food with premiums said the witness, identified as” euro-14 “.
Econobásicos International, S.A. -created In February 2013 to “sell and distribute canned goods and dry goods” was one of the companies. In just one year it received 25 purchase orders from PAN, totaling
$5.5 million. That was paid before the election, when the then director of PAN, Rafael Guardia signed six orders for nearly $1 million to pay that company ,
“In shareholder meetings  of these companies the sisters Carla and Clarissa Moran Oliveira acted as ad hoc secretaries. Clarissa was the girl friend of Roberto Carlos, brother of Juan Carlos Marciaga who a few months ago bought a residence for more than $800,000 in Bijao Beach & Residences without bank financing, and is building a shopping center and a neighborhood in Penonomé- He accepted owning some of the companies. But he stressed: “I was not near, the largest provider of PAN”.
He told La Prensa “My brother [Carlos Roberto] is a lawyer and represents companies to sell.”he said. “Some are mine and some not,” The businessman, who previously owned a little known packaging company claims to have infrastructure to provide input to the state, unlike other “desktop” companies which also did business with the PAN.
Asked why 20 companies were dissolved in one day. Marciaga said: “They entered [in the Public Register] in one package,” “They were politically exposed” and he would not pay for an annual income statement for an inoperative society.
He said the law did not prevent him from participating with newer companies.
He complained that he has been labeled as a thief “because of selling something to the last government and said the PAN called everyone to participate. He said it was not true that the PAN has bought items with surcharges.and complained about being featured in previous reports . “There is one vendor that earned up to $60 million in a single contract and has not been named ,” he said, but declined to identify the company.
Another company that won lucrative PAN contracts in the PAN was Mister Rooster Corporation, SA I incorporated on October 9, 2009. He received 31 purchase orders totaling $6.4 million to provide, among other items, building materials. On June 17, 2013, the Comptroller Gioconda Torres de Bianchini endorsed three orders on behalf of this company for more than half a million dollars In its notice of operation, Mister Rooster reported that the business would be “fast-casual food, selling food products, food for events, meetings, sale of alcoholic beverages in containers on the premises”. But he also sold the PAN rubber boots given out by deputies in remote areas.
In the local market each pair of these boots cost $10, but the PAN paid $ 25, ie 150% more than the retail cost
Mister Rooster also sold t PAN, in 2012, 20, 000 Christmas bags at a cost of $300,000; and 55,000 pounds of turkey, $192,000, products that were paid with funds for “culture and sport” handled by deputies.
This program, according to the investment plan of PAN, was” aimed at strengthening the sporting activities at the national level as a measure to reduce or mitigate the effects of juvenile delinquency, and of course to improve the quality of life of young people.”
And that’s exactly what happened said La Prensa. Youth like Juan Carlos Marciaga who within a few years became a member of the new millionaires’ club.