Pele bribery investigation widens

IN THE MIDST of expanding investigations into alleged bribery by  a company which obtained a controversial contract with the Panama Maritime Authority under the last government,  the names of two journalists working for the Ricardo Martinelli owned Panama America have surfaced.

Pele System Inc is under investigation due to the questionable payments made by the company to shell companies, First Administration Ltd. and Cliverstone Advisory Ltd.

Pele System received a $21.6 million contract to provide inspection services to vessels registered in Panama.

According to prosecutors, those companies issued payments to Rafael Berrocal and Santiago Fascetto, two former La Prensa journalists who left the newspaper to work for Grupo Editorial Panamá América, a newspaper controlled by former president  Martinelli.

Fascetto and Berrocal received the payments between 2012 and 2014 reports La Prensa.

First Administration issued six checks totaling $49,000 between October 2013 and August 2014 on behalf of Fascetto.

While Cliverstone Advisory Ltd., which has been linked to Panama Canal Board Member Lourdes Castillo, issued checks valued at $36,000 to Berrocal between between August 2012 and June 2014.

Questioned about the payment, Fascetto said: “I do not remember how many checks were issued. It was a couple of years ago that Samuel [Israel], the signatory of First Administration) gave me a hand. But there was nothing strange or illegal about it.”

When Israel was asked about these transactions, he said: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He also refuted claims that appeared in La Prensa on Monday  August 15 that he is under investigation for corruption charges.

“I’m very upset because you are putting things in the newspaper that you are guessing about. I have had a consulting company for 25 years, and you are talking about alleged bribes and that offends me,” he said.

Berrocal explained that the payments made to him by Cliverstone Advisory were for the newspaper La Última Palabra.

“We work there with about seven or eight people, and all those expenses were paid with those funds. The newspaper opened and had eight printed versions, then went to digital. I spent a year working on that project, then I left,” he said.

Castillo could not be reached for comment says La Prensa