Odebrecht Prosecutor Requests Acquittal for the 5 Members of the Evaluation Committee and Conviction for Suárez and De la Rosa
Ruth Morcillo in the red top, senior prosecutor of the Public Ministry, with her team are pictured below.
The trial is expected to end on Wednesday, March 11. Anti-corruption prosecutor Ruth Morcillo requested a conviction for former Minister of Public Works, Federico José “Pepe” Suárez, and businessman Marcelo de la Rosa, for the alleged commission of embezzlement, in the trial for alleged overcharges in the remodeling of the Old Town and the expansion of the Domingo Díaz road. Furthermore, she requested the acquittal of the five members of the evaluation committee for the Ministry of Public Works projects. María Eugenia González, León Halphen, Héctor Castillo, Juan Manuel Vásquez, and Sergio Del Sour. The trial is being presided over by Judge Águeda Rentería and has been taking place behind closed doors since March 2nd, in the courtroom of the Superior Court of Criminal Cases.
Federico Suárez right with his lawyer Rosendo Miranda left, at the trial for irregularities in the execution of the Old Town restoration project.
The process examines one of the most complex corruption cases that Panamanian justice has faced in recent years, due to the volume of evidence and the number of contracts under analysis. Prosecutor Morcillo presented her closing arguments on Tuesday, March 10, bringing the legal proceedings into their final stage. In this phase, the parties present their conclusions regarding the evidence included in the case file before the court issues a ruling. The projects at the center of the legal proceedings are the rehabilitation of the Historic Heritage of Panama City, in the Old Quarter, and the expansion of José Domingo Díaz Avenue. Both projects were part of the Master Plan for Road Management that the Ricardo Martinelli administration promoted between 2009 and 2014.
Federico Suárez, former Minister of Public Works.
An audit by the Comptroller General of the Republic of Panama detected alleged cost overruns in the two projects. The report set the amount for the remodeling of the Old Quarter at $51.4 million, while the overcharge for the expansion of José Domingo Díaz Avenue reached $47.3 million. The Historic Heritage project was awarded to Odebrecht and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, the Spanish company known as FCC. The Domingo Díaz project was awarded to the Ica-Meco consortium. “The prosecution considered that there was sufficient evidence within the investigation to request the corresponding sentence against the former Minister of Public Works [Federico Suárez], and this was maintained in the hearing based on the evidence that exists, not only in these two consolidated cases, but also in those that are yet to be resolved in the court,” the prosecutor assured in an interview.
The trial is being held behind closed doors in the courtroom of the Superior Criminal Court
Regarding the request for acquittal of the members of the evaluation committee, the prosecutor explained that, although in an initial stage the investigation sought to establish a possible link between that group and the irregularities detected in the projects, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was unable to prove that its members had knowledge of the anomalies indicated in the file. Given this lack of evidence regarding the element of knowledge, the prosecution opted to request an acquittal in his favor. After the prosecution’s arguments, it is the State’s turn, represented by the Ministry of Public Security, which participates as a plaintiff.
