Extradition request for embezzlement suspect
A FORMAL request for the extradition of Mayer Mizrachi Mayer, who was arrested Dec. 29 in Colombia following an Interpol red alert, will be presented next week by Panama’s Foreign Ministry.He is wanted on charges of embezzlement.
The request will be handled by the ambassador to Colombia, said an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday January 1.
Mizrachi is being investigated for allegedly failing to fulfill a contract his company, Innovative Venture, received from the Government Innovation authority to provide encryption software for cell phones used by security officials.
An audit of the authority determined that the contract cost the government $211,000.
Mizrachi is the son of the brother-in-law of former President Ricardo Martinelli. He received the direct contract two months before the 2014 election reports La Prensa.
Also charged are former Innovation Authority Director Eduardo Jaén and former authority officials Adonay Ortega, Eduardo Briceño and Edgar Rodríguez.
