Italians mystified at inaction of Panama Assembly

The Italian Ministry of Justice is perplexed at the inaction of Panama’s National Assembly, which has not ratified the bilateral extradition treaty that would have facilitated the surrender of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio , former private secretary of Ricardo Martinelli . De Obarrio was arrested on April 7 in Milan , due to a request for his arrest for extradition by Panama, but last Wednesday, a court ordered his release, since the bilateral treaty Signed by both countries in 2013 was never ratified by the National Assembly. the Italian Senate did ratify it in 2016 and it has been a law of the Republic since November 22, 2018. A spokesman for the Italian Ministry of Justice said , “Panama, for reasons unknown to us, has not proceeded to ratify the extradition agreement, which, therefore, should not be considered in force.” The Italian ministry alleges that, without this ratification, there is no legal framework that supports the extradition. Since Dcember 2014 and until his capture, the whereabouts of De Obarrio were unknown, who is required by various processes on irregularities in purchases of the National Aid Program (PAN) . He was also prosecuted for unjustified enrichment. Published reports reveal that when he was appointed to the $5,000 a month job he had less than $20 in his bank account. Five years later he was a millionaire who spent $700,000 on his wedding. Now he is free, without bail; The court also did not require De Obarrio, who is also an Italian citizen, to surrender his passport.