American jailed for bribing Panama officials

EDUARDO Vicente Garcia, 65, who lives in Miami (Florida) was jailed for 22 months on Thursday Dec 16, after pleading guilty to bribing officials in Panama’s Social Security  System (CSS)  to get a  computer technology  contract.

The sentence was passed by Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California says a US Department of Justice United States statement.

Garcia admitted last August to having  participated “in a scheme to bribe Panamanian authorities in order to ensure that government contracts granted to SAP technology,” tsaid the court papers.

Garcia’s  confession  allowed him to reach an amicable agreement with the SEC (“Securities and Exchange Commission”), which had filed civil charges against him, inwhich he agreed to pay$92 395

According to court documents, SAP sought to achieve “in late 2009” a multimillion dollar contract to provide “a Panamanian state agency”[Social Security, CSS] a package to update their technology.

To ensure this, Garcia paid bribes to two senior officials of the Government of Panama and the agent of a third party, which materialized in sham contracts and false invoices to “disguise the nature of bribes.”

Finally, SAP won the contract to upgrade the technology for the CSS administration, valued at $14.5 million, including   $2.1 million for SAP software licenses. Later the Panamanian government awarded more contracts to the German multinational.reports the EPE News Agency,

Garcia aid  said that ” he  believed it was necessary to to pay these bribes to ensure both the initial contract and additional contracts with the Panamanian government.”

The US  considers  these facts in accordance with the law on corrupt practices abroad (“Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”),with the involvement  a US citizen and a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Several former senior CSS officials are currently under investigation.