Odebrecht Brazilian scandal raises Panama concerns

THE ARREST of Marcelo Odebrecht, and Otavio Azevedo Marques, president of the construction company Andrade Gutierrez, has had the ripple effect of a nuclear bomb on Brazil say local media, and in Panama voices have been raisedcalling for  a closer examination of the awarding of the contract for Metro Line 2 to the Brazilian company.

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“We need to determine if the company has the moral quality to be a reliable contractor of  of Panama MetroLine 2  and other projects in which it participates,” said Roberto Brenes, president of Freedom Foundation.
Brazilian Authorities have blocked bank accounts of executives of the companies worth $6.5 billion according to the newspaper O Globo.
In the latest phase of “Operation Lava Jato” (car wash), the Federal Police revealed details of a vast network of kickbacks linked to politics, corporate and economic power.
The companies are accused of crimes “of cartel formation, procurement fraud, corruption, misappropriation of public funds and money laundering” The fraud scheme centered around a group of companies  tendering s for projects contracted by the state oil company  in the period from 2004-2014.
Marcelo Odebrecht,46, is the leader of an empire that last year had a turnover of $40 billion. He is the third generation at the helm of the company which employs 180,000 workers in 21 countries, including Panama.
In three presidential terms in Panama, Odebrecht has controlled the most important infrastructure projects in the country. Their contracts, alone, or in partnership with other companies, total $8.5 billion. and there have been voices calling for an audit of the projects awarded to the company, with many believing that dealings with Odebrecht will reflect the “irregularities” in other contracts currently under investigation in Panama and Italy.
Brazilian prosecutors  say they  has evidence of a sophisticated scheme of illegal payments funneled to ex- directors of Petrobras abroad, mainly through Panama, Switzerland and Monaco.
Efe news agency reports that according to the Federal Police, the companies obtained rigged contracts with Petrobras, “inflated values by up to 4% and distributed the differences between directors of state and political parties.”
According to the account of the authorities, they managed to hide financial moves for two decades, because of the level of penetration they achieved.
O Globo, reports that under investigation are: 2 governors, 13 senators and 22 deputies currently in office.
Prosecutors have found that at least $800 million in bribes and other “illegal funds” was distributed.
Prosecutors, say that both Marcelo Odebrecht and Azevedo Marques knew everything that was happening in their companies and there are documents to prove it.
Federal Police spokesman Igor de Paula, told O Globo that “No matter the size of the company, its ability to influence and  its economic power, we can never allow  these people or companies to practice crimes” .