Ex-top cop fingers Martinelli circle in alleged scam

A CRIMINAL complaint submitted to the Public Ministry (MP) by Former Judicial Technical Police Director Jaime Abad has been accepted and will be investigated by Organized Crime Prosecutor Marcelino Aguilar.

Abad said on Wednesday, April 20, that the strategy used to pay the debt of Editorial Panama America (Epasa) in 2010 was similar to the one that was executed to divert public funds from the irrigation system in Tonosi and the Amador Convention Center.

Abad told La Prensa that it was the same modus operandi, where a group of businessmen or offer some service, others provide partnerships, and in the end, they get the profits for a shared benefit.

He said that in this case, the Public Prosecutor’s Office must send requests to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Superintendency of Banks of Panama and the General Directorate of Revenue to obtain a clear picture of how money was diverted from the state coffers to a private enterprise that benefitted associates of former President Ricardo Martinelli.

At the same time, he claimed to have knowledge about institutions and contacts abroad “who are anxious to provide information on the movements” of the questionable payments.

He also noted that, as a private citizen, he was limited as to the information he could obtain.  But he said the Public Ministry can access that information.

“My intention as a citizen is to tell the MP to complete the work before the information that has been presented,” said the lawyer.

Meanwhile, MP sources reported that the complaint filed by Abad was filed in the First Specialized Prosecutor against Organized Crime, under Marcelino Aguilar.

The sources confirmed that Aguilar will be responsible for carrying out the investigation and determining whether or not criminal charges should be filed.

There is already an open investigation into the purchase of Epasa based on statements made by Deputy Ivan Arrocha in January.

Arrocha said that there were allegations of irregularities regarding the acquisition of the media group.

According to Abad, his complaint reinforces the statements of Deputy Arrocha.

Abad said that the information obtained was mainly from public sources.

In the complaint, Abad notes that Transcaribe Trading (TCT) and Excavations of the Isthmus, acting in complicity with Gladden Corporation, Fusys Latin Corp., Caribbean Holding Services Ltd, High Spirit, Constructora Corcione & Associates, Pavilion Financial Company, Los Pueblos ID, S.A. And Gold Park Investment Inc. are allegedly implicated in crimes against public administration, as they benefited from state contracts.

The allegation is that the funds were then used to finance the purchase of Epasa.

Panama Canal Board Members (ACP) Nicolás Corcione and Henri Mizrachi were also named in the complaint.