Security boss the point man for bribery cover-up

CURRENTLY embattled ex-Minister of Public Security Jose Raul Mulino was the point  man  designated by the previous administration to defend the 2010 contract with the Italian company Finmeccanica against  a cloud of corruption allegations.

The allegations surrounded  the funds to be diverted to the Panamanian corporation Agafea, which was eventually linked to former President Ricardo Martinelli.

Mulino’s defense was based on the fact that the entire Cabinet Council approved contracts and that those in charge of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Alberto Vallarino and Dulcidio de la Guardia, were the ones ultimately responsible for paying the $250 million due to Finmeccanica. Those individuals, he has argued, should have questioned the payment of commissions.

The minister was sent to Rome in April 2012 to answer questions posed by the Italian government about corruption allegations. He also met with Italian diplomats in Panama.

At that time, Mulino allegedly ignored the revelations about the payment of commissions to Agafea as well as the fact that the radars, purchased for $125 million as part of the overall contract, failed to operate as promised.

An addendum to the radar contract was signed by Mulino on June 17, 2014, two weeks before the change of government. According to the former official, the extension was signed because 12 of the 19 radars had to be re-calibrated. That, however reports La Prensa  did not result in them functioning properly, a problem that was left to the new government to solve.

ITALY SORTI

As the scandal over the irregularities in the contracts was exploding in both Italy and Panama, Martinelli dispatched Mulino to Italy in April 2012 to meet with officials and explain the situation.

In a circular emanating from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama dated April 18, 2012, Martinelli officially commissioned Mulino to defend the contract.

According to the document, Mulino was to “explain” the government’s position before the “publication of news which will be confusing to the national and international public.”

In Italy, Mulino said the Ministry of Public Security had “offered to the country the information about the contracts.”

This statement was not true, as the contracts were never published in the Government Gazette. They were also signed in August 2010, a year before any mention of them was made in public, says La Prensa.

He also mischaracterized the projects as “turnkey,” since the contracts were not subject to public bidding.

He also denied that a commission would be paid, even though Finmeccanica had agreed to pay Agafea Corp. a 10 percent commission, or about $25 million.

He also said that Panama would collaborate with the investigations of Italian prosecutors. Those prosecutors, however, have repeatedly denounced a lack of cooperation on the part of Panama.