Death threats to Panama whistleblower

ONE OF   the “facilitators” of bribes from the Oderbrecht Construction company to former ministers in the Ricardo Martinelli administration has received death threats according to his attorney.

That has led to a postponement of a judicial hearing to validate a collaboration agreement with the anti-corruption prosecutor that was to have taken place on Thursday, November 16.

La Prensa reports that although the identity of the intermediary who has made a deal has not been confirmed officially it is known that the Public Ministry (MP)  has negotiated effective collaboration agreements with Jorge Espino, Luis Saiz and Olmedo Méndez Tribaldos.

Espino has confessed to the prosecutor’s office that he registered an account in Andorra, in which Odebrecht deposited money for Jaime Ford, former Minister of Public Works. A report by the Division of Crimes against Public Administration of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ), reveals that in 2011, Ford presented Espino  to Odebrecht as “his friend” and recommended him

as a possible supplier of supplies and services for works that were never contracted.

At the first meeting, Espino requested, in Ford’s presence, the sum of $1.8 million Odebrecht, agreed to pay the sum in order to “meet the Minister of Public Works. At that time it had big contracts like Cinta Costera 3,  historical heritage (Casco Viejo) and highway Santiago -Vigui, and was guaranteed the payment of projects for $3 billion.”

According to the report, the payment of $1.8 million was made between 2013 and 2014 in an offshore account indicated by Espino in a banking entity in Andorra. The money was paid in a segmented way according to the investigations.

Espino who was an energy consultant close to former Economy Minister Frank De Lima confessed to the prosecution that he received money from Odebrecht in an account in Andorra that was controlled by De Lima.

Espino would have received $7 million from Odebrecht in a fragmented way between 2011 and 2014.

Méndez Tribaldos also revealed that when he served in the Finance Ministry he was offered an investment business that consisted of opening an account, whose final beneficiary was the former Finance Minister De Lima.