Silence surrounds Ministry over Odebrecht probe request

A WALL OF SILENCE has surrounded the office of Panama’s Attorney General over  allegations that she has failed to assist authorities from Brazil with the investigation into corruption allegations against the construction company Odebrecht.

Earlier  Kenia  Porcell had justified her  lack of assistance by stating that the request was too vague.

But Brazilian prosecutors have made public their call for information, which contains nine specific requests related to bank accounts and other information about a Panamanian company that was allegedly used to launder money for bribes paid by Odebrecht.

The request was made 18 months ago.

La Prensa reported on Tuesday, September 20,  that it  had been seeking comment on the issue since the previous  Thursday, but the Attorney General’s Office has not responded.

Civic groups have criticized lack of cooperation by Panama on the issue.

The Independent Movement (Movin), said that the fight against corruption and crimes such as money laundering require more than speeches, but concrete action as well. It said that these actions will send the message to the world that Panama takes the issues seriously.

Legal viewpoint
A legal opinion published by La Prensa  says that under a treaty between the two nations  Panama is obliged to cooperate with Brazil in all investigations requesting assistance. In  2005, the  United Nations Convention against Corruption was adopted. This indicates that no bank may impede cooperation in combating corruption. This convention allows an aggrieved country, as is Brazil, for the lack of cooperation from Panama, to initiate a process of international arbitration or even go to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to enforce and seek compensation for damages that the uncooperative actions of the Public Ministry may have caused.