Cabinet approved contract unaware of Martinelli linked shell co.

CONTRACTS signed with Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica in 2010 were presented to cabinet  with  no reference  to commissions for a shell company linked to then president Ricardo Martinelli.

The information was provided by President Juan Carlos Varela in Milan Italy, in talks with La Prensa after meeting with entrepreneurs and Italian politicians in order to boost investments in Italy.

“The contracts were presented and supported by Minister of Security [José Raúl Mulino]. President Martinelli then asked for their approval. No one knew that it had included a commission for Agafia,” said Varela, referring to the shell company that received a commission as part of the $250 million contract.

Varela, who was chancellor at the time, said he was limited to playing a role in the protocol of the signing of the contract.

Agafia was created by Valter Lavítola, the Italian businessman who has been the subject of several corruption cases in the Courts of Rome and Naples and is currently in jail awaiting anotheer trial.

“When the existence of the commission emerged, I asked publicly for the annulment of the contract,” said the president.

Panama and Italy finished an agreement this week that granted Panama compensation for economic damage it suffered due to irregularities in the contract.