Call for independent prosecutor in bribery scandal

BUSINESSMAN I. Roberto Eisenmann, one of the founders of La Prensa, has proposed the creation of a special prosecutor to collaborate in the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry related to the payment of bribes by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
The Eisenmann initiative comes after President Juan Carlos Varela said he is in favor of auditing the projects awarded to Odebrecht during his administration as
various sectors of organized civil society have been demanding .
Under Varela’s administration , Odebrecht has been awarded two major contracts: Line 2 of the Panama Metro and the Colón Urban Renewal project, together amounting to over $2 billion.
“The best thing would be for Attorney General [Kenia Porcell] to appoint a special prosecutor toinvestigate Odebrecht outside the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the government, but it apparently is not in her plans,” Eisenmann told the media.
He proposed that organized civil society, the Technological University of Panama, the Chamber of Commerce, Transparency International and even investigative journalists participate in this “special public prosecution.”
Eisenmann also referred to the evident “discontent” that exists among the citizens in relation to these investigations.
“People assume that the processes are not being carried out with the speed that is required because the government is involved and the only way to solve this is for someone to investigate it correctly,” he said.
Odebrecht representatives confessed to the US Department of Justice that they paid $788 million in bribes in several countries, including $59 million in Panama.
To date, the Special AntiCorruption Office has investigated 17 people for taking bribes.