Switzerland asks Panamas help in Odebrecht corruption probe

SWISS AUTHORITIES have asked Panama for assistance in an investigation of the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, the recipient contracts totaling  billions of dollars, from successive Panama governments.

Swiss authorities in February arrested one of the top  executives of the company, Fernando Migliaccio da Silva, while he was trying to close bank accounts and empty a safe in a Geneva Bank.

His name has been linked to a sophisticated financial structure created abroad by Odebrecht to camouflage the million-dollar bribes it paid for contracts from the state oil company Petrobras.

Prosecutors from the Lava Jato (car wash)  anti-corruption operation in Brazil have provided evidence proving that Miglaccio da Silva was one of the officials from the construction company that orchestrated the bribes.

Marcelo Odebrecht, a former president of the company much feted in Panama was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for corruption and laundering of assets earlier this year.

Brazilian police linked Migliaccio da Silva with a company incorporated in Panama which they said was “proven to be used by Odebrecht for payments to foreign and Brazilian government officials.”

The company was dissolved in August 2014, but whilennit maintained bank accounts in Panama – for about 7 years – it received at least $47 million, of which $3 million ended up in Swiss bank accounts on behalf of Panamanian corporations whose final beneficiaries were executives from Petrobras.

The Swiss authorities are seeking legal assistance from several countries, including Panama, to determine the beneficial owners of the companies involved in the investigation reports La Prensa.