Panama crisis as Varela accused of Odebrecht bribery links
PANAMA’S government was in crisis mode on Thursday Feb.9, after a former adviser to President Juan Carlos Varela, publicly accused him of receiving benefits from the Odebrecht company which has received some $2.5 billion in contracts under his watch.
The accusation was made to media by Ramón Fonseca who with Jürgen Mossack, were founding partners of the Mossack Fonseca law firm and were on their way to questioning by the Special AntiCorruption Prosecutor’s Office as part of the investigation into alleged irregular activities in Brazil linked to the Lava Jato bribery scandal.
The statements which were quickly published on local broadcast channels, led to an emergency press conference at which Varela denied the allegations and promised to publish the next day details of contributions made do his election campaign
Attorney General Kenia Porcell also broadcast that separate investigations were underway into Lava Jato and Odebrecht.
Fonseca arrived at the Avesa building on Via Espana which is the headquarters of the anticorruption prosecutor, at 3:30 p.m.
Before Mossack arrived Fonseca, the former Panamenista Party president told waiting media that Varela, also had improper ties to Odebrecht, which is charged with bribing officials in a dozen countries.
He alleged that the bribes distributed by Odebrecht in Panama go well beyond the $59 million to which the firm had confessed to US authorities in December.
He calculated that if Odebrecht obtained contracts in Panama for more than $9 billion, then the bribes that were distributed were “for a billion.”
“We have not really investigated here except for Mossack Fonseca, who has nothing to do with it,” ee said.
Fonseca said he knew Varela accepted campaign contributions from Odebrecht. He also said that he has repeatedly called for the investigation of the Cinta Costera III project, which was completed by Odebrecht during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli.
“As for President Varela, God put him in that position to fix things, to fix the institutions of the country,” he said.
The Panama Papers
Mossack Fonseca is the subject of another investigation, by the Second Prosecutor against Organized Crime, for the alleged commission of crimes against the economic order.
This was prompted by an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which outlined the firm’s practices in structuring offshore companies that in some cases were used to hide fortunes, evade taxes or launder money.
In a statement issued Thursday, the firm said that all these actions are carried out “to divert attention” from the Odebrecht investigation and its possible link to the current government.
