Martinelli cousin named in financial criminal complaint

CRIMINAL complaints have been filed with the Public Ministry over financial irregularities in the National Secretariat for Science and Technology (Senacyt) while under the direction of Ruben Berrocal a cousin of then president Ricardo Martinelli.

 After Senacyt audits performed by the current authorities, the new director Dr  Jorge Motta filed the complaint against the Venezuelan company 3G2NET and Canadian exoU Inc., with the possible complicity of the entity.

The complaint covers possible embezzlement, fraud, criminal conspiracy injury to the State and other crimes amounting to  $3.1 million, reports La Prensa.

None of nine contracts was endorsed by the Comptroller General of the Republic, which means that there is no legal document supporting the payments made by the State

In addition, disbursements were processed through the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) in order to circumvent procedures  under the law on public procurement. It adds to this that the contracts were not related to the agreement between UNDP and Senacyt on strengthening research processesfrom a state medical institution such as the Social Security Fund (CSS) or the

Senacyt signed four “consulting”  contracts with the company 3G2NET to implement health information technology.

There was  no support agreement between Senacyt and the MoH or CSS listed as beneficiaries of the project.

Four direct contracts without tender were awarded to 3G2NET to implement a telemedicine system, says the report.

None of the  contracts signed by Berrocal between June 2013 and April 2014 exceed $ 250,000, which is the maximum amount of that the Senacyt  Secretary without requiring the approval of the board of the organization, composed of representatives of the public and private sector.

The “consultants” hired and paid (between $ 190,000 and $ 240,000) were for a feasibility study for the development of a telemedicine system; a study for the development of a technology platform management in public health; the feasibility study for the development of a national system of telemedicine and plan development and operation of the first module of a management information system and health, which has not yet been canceled. The latter is in the amount of $ 190,000.

Among other irregularities in procurement requisitions were post-dated contracts.

In addition, there are “findings of incidences of plagiarism” notes the report. “The texts of consultancies are composed of plagiarized paragraphs and chapters, mostly digital texts found on the Internet. Even repeated in different reports “says the complaint.

Without the endorsement of the Comptroller, Berrocal awarded five contracts to Canadian exoU Inc., to equip four laboratories with 21 computers each, for a total of $ 250,000 each, and another contract for  “consulting” and “services”.

The paperwork for a bid  to supply goods is  evaded, a fact criminalized “relating to fraud” in the acts of recruitment, says the Senacyt.  

The State paid $250,000 for 21 computers that have a declared value about $73,000, which means a difference of $ 177,000 or nearly 150% over the declared value.

Another of these labs with 21 computers, was installed in the School of Computer, Electronics and Communications at the University of Panama, for another $250,000.

To purchase the software and licenses of these computers was another contract for $1.2 million dollars, although not authorized by the Senacyt board and there were no supporting documents.

In this contract computers-were bought for $250,000 when the goods were worth $161,000, according to the bill of lading.

Meanwhile the computers are “is not being used for what was proposed],” saya Alvaro Pino, dean of the faculty, and  the expensive equipment and has flaws in its operation.

The aim of the laboratory at the Faculty of Informatics was so applications on that platform were developed, but exoU not provide the promised training for this purpose, says  the Senacyt report.

Other anomalies in this contract jncluded the purchase of 84 computers with their software and licenses over a period of two months (February and March 2014), with the same provider, which evaded the public procurement procedure, according to the complaint.

In addition, a $350,000 contract was signed but a purchased informatics platform was never received.

All these contracts were paid through UNDP, a body that detected irregularities and alerted Senacyt.

Until completion of the investigation of complaints filed by Senacyt, UNDP suspended the project to strengthen the research process.

La Prensa contacted Shan Ahdoot in Canada who signs as representative of exoU Inc, through three emails to but they were ignored.

Attempts to locate Ruben Berrocal’s cell phone were made but there were no answers and his company did not know his whereabouts.