Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 20, 2016 Moderators Share Posted November 20, 2016 Quote Varela to receive report on financial services industry He is expected to release the findings Monday. Aminta Bustamante 18 nov 2016 - 11:09h President Juan Carlos Varela will receive a report on the country's financial services industry today, and has pledged to make the findings public Monday. "I am going to receive it tomorrow and review it over the weekend," the president said yesterday. The report was prepared by a committee of independent experts who reviewed the practices of the financial industry. The committee was formed in April in response to the so-called "Panama Papers" investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). That investigation was based on files that were leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca. The committee's work was interrupted in August when two members, Nobel Laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth, resigned over concerns about transparency. The pair quit the committee over concerns the report would not be released to the public. Varela said that the two experts had the right to express their opinions and thanked them for being a part of the committee for a few months. The pair issued their own report earlier this month which called for a "quarantine" on tax havens. http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Presidente-Varela-divulgara-practicas-financieras_21_4624247533.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 26, 2016 Moderators Share Posted November 26, 2016 Quote Experts who quit Panama panel produce their own report By Michael Hudson November 15, 2016, 11:30 am Ending the kinds of offshore abuses revealed by the Panama Papers scandal requires a global solution led by the United States and Europe, a report released today by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth says. The 25-page report, “Overcoming the Shadow Economy,” argues that, as “economic leaders,” the U.S. and the European Union “have an obligation to force financial centers to comply with global transparency standards.” The U.S. and EU have shown they have the tools to stem the flow of dirty money in the fight against terrorism, but have failed to use these same anti-money-laundering tools as forcefully in the fight against financial corruption and tax dodging, the report says. “Secrecy has to be attacked globally – offshore and onshore,” the report says. “There can be no places to hide.” The new report is an outgrowth of the pair’s initial work on a study committee appointed by the Panamanian government in response to a series of news stories by ICIJ and more than 100 media partners. The media partnership’s Panama Papers investigation revealed the inner workings of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm headquartered in Panama that has helped create offshore structures used by world leaders, wealthy individuals, drug lords and financial fraudsters. Stiglitz and Pieth resigned from the Panamanian government committee in August, saying that government officials had refused to assure the panel it had full independence to investigate and make its findings public. The government blamed their resignations over “internal differences” on the committee. Stiglitz, a professor at New York’s Columbia University, said in an interview Monday that he and Pieth decided to go forward with their own report because they believe it’s important to articulate the global solutions to the challenges posed by the shadow economy. Stiglitz said they wanted to address growing concerns about not only Panama but also about other secrecy havens and big nations, such as the U.S., that play a significant role in the offshore system. American banks, for example, have paid out large settlements over allegations by U.S. authorities that they failed to stem the flow of drug money and other illicit funds laundered through shell companies and offshore accounts. “In a globalized world, if there is any pocket of secrecy, funds will flow through that pocket,” their report says. “That is why the system of transparency has to be global. The U.S. and EU are key in tipping the balance toward transparency, but this will only be the starting point: each country must play its role as a global citizen in order to shut down the shadow economy.” Among the report’s recommendations: Every country should establish a searchable public registry that identifies the directors and actual owners of all companies, trusts and foundations incorporated within its borders. Governments should hand out stiff punishments to lawyers and other middlemen who knowingly register a corporation or trust “whose primary purpose is to evade or avoid taxes or to engage in money laundering.” Governments should discourage money laundering through real estate by requiring the disclosure of the real owners for all large real estate cash transactions. Pieth and Stiglitz say that the U.S. and EU have the power to force other nations to embrace these and other reforms by simply threatening to cut off access to their financial systems. The pair writes that there’s “a widely shared perspective” that secrecy havens only exist because the U.S. and Europe “have looked the other way. … These major players have yet to pull the trigger, partly due to the delay in putting their own houses in order.” The full report can be read here. Stiglitz is due to speak with the EU’s PANA Committee, which was convened to investigate financial secrecy in the wake of the Panama Papers, on Wednesday. Stiglitz-and-Pieth-Overcoming-the-Shadow-Economy.pdf https://www.icij.org/blog/2016/11/experts-who-quit-panama-panel-produce-their-own-report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieElaine Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 While anyone who does not know how this shadow economy actually works will find this paper interesting and surprising. While the people utilizing these kinds of shelters are the same ones that run the governments in a lot of cases, I believe full disclosure is a pipe dream. Would be nice though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted December 1, 2016 Moderators Share Posted December 1, 2016 Quote Mossack Fonseca challenged to discuss corruption Posted on November 30, 2016 in Panama Mossack Fonseca's office building Post Views: 118 TRANSPARENCY International has thrown down the gauntlet to Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, center of the “Panama Papers” scandal, and challenged it to discuss corruption in the financial system at a global conference in Panama, Dec.1-4. “Transparency International definitely invites the people of Mossack Fonseca to come,” said Roberto Pérez Rocha, director of the 17th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC “I extend an invitation (to Mossack Fonseca) to come and discuss openly what transparency in the financial system means,” Perez added. About 1,200 experts will address corruption issues at the conference, including those related to financial systems. The agenda of discussions includes the Panama Papers, a leak that revealed how Mossack Fonseca created opaque societies for personalities from around the world, many of which could have served to evade taxes or laundering money from illegal activities. Several journalists who reported on the case will analyze the scope of the scandal, which caused the resignation of the Prime Minister of Iceland and a Spanish minister, as well as linking former British Prime Minister David Cameron, Argentine President Mauricio Macri and soccer player Argentine Lionel Messi, and others to tax avoidance. Perez extended the invitation to other actors who have participated in the creation of opaque societies, since “there is a global debate now and the worst we can do is hide.” “We are going to stand face to face discussing it” because financial systems are the “most corrupt” on the planet and facilitators are ” create practically all the atrocities we suffer as citizens,” he said. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mossack-fonseca-challenged-discuss-corruption Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evelyn Kendall Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 New York Times piece titled "How to Hide $400 Million Dollars". http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/magazine/how-to-hide-400-million.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news Lengthy, well written, and ultimately sickening to realize that this miserable, unhappy and greedy pair represent what has been happening to deplete the wealth of nations...and the robbery of "the little people" who pay their taxes. (Leona Helmsley: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." ) From the article: James S. Henry, a former chief economist at McKinsey, calls the offshore financial world the “economic equivalent of an astrophysical black hole,” holding at least $21 trillion of the world’s financial wealth, more than the gross domestic product of the United States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted December 2, 2016 Moderators Share Posted December 2, 2016 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/investigaciones-abierto-gracias-revelaciones-ICIJ_21_4633996561.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted December 3, 2016 Moderators Share Posted December 3, 2016 Quote Scandal committee report faces implementation challenge Posted on December 2, 2016 in Panama Mark Pieth, right Post Views: 72 MARK PIETH, the Swiss criminology professor who resigned from the Panama committee convened in the wake of the Mossack Fonseca scandal to propose reforms to Panama’s financial system says the committee’s report, delivered last month, contains some good recommendations But : The challenge now is to implement them, that is the hardest part,”he said during the 17th International Conference Against Corruption, which is taking place in Panama. “I still think that assembling such a committee was a good idea, although I would have wanted it to be more international.” That objection was one of the reasons that motivated his departure from the committee along with Nobel economics Laureate Joseph Stiglitz. They were also concerned that the report would not be made public, something that President Juan Carlos Varela did a short time after receiving it. After their resignations, Pieth and Stiglitz wrote their own report with global recommendations to combat the use of corporate structures and the financial system to hide assets. In that report, they recommended the creation of public records that can be accessed by investigators. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/scandal-committee-report-faces-implementation-challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 (edited) ANTI-CORRUPTION prosecutors are between a rock and a hard place” said Panama President Juan Carlos Navarro at the opening of the 17th global conference on transparency which opened in Panama this week. Varela said one of the problems is the enormous wage gap between those who prosecute corruption and those who help to enable it. “For me it is unacceptable that at both ends people are attacking the prosecutors,” he said. “One side wants them to do more, and the other wants to oppose them.” His call was echoed by Iosé Ugaz, president of Transparency International (TI), who said that people around the world are calling for “more transparency and less corruption.” “We know that corruption kills, it affects health, generates malnutrition, denies education and. access to safe drinking water and decent housing. “While those who generate corruption have a glamorous life,” said Ugaz, who also called for more support for prosecutors. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/support-needed-corruption-prosecutors Quote Varela said one of the problems is the enormous wage gap between those who prosecute corruption and those who help to enable it.“For me it is unacceptable that at both ends people are attacking the prosecutors,” he said. “One side wants them to do more, and the other wants to oppose them.” The President seems to be quietly saying that if those who prosecute corruption are paid very little and asked to work very hard, it is not only unfair, there is greater temptation for them to turn to the dark side of the equation. Edited December 3, 2016 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) Latest from the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/americas/-panama-papers-leak.html?emc=edit_th_20161204&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60981899&_r=0 Edited December 4, 2016 by JudyS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) From the same article.. "Panamanian banks are alleged to have held some of the bribe money. Multibank, formerly known as Multi-Credit Bank, is cited in court documents as one of the places where funds were deposited. This financial institution’s outlook was recently revised downward by S & P Global." and "The commission’s other co-chairman, Alberto Alemán, is an independent director of Global Bank, one of three Panamanian banks whose outlook was recently revised by S & P Global to negative from stable, reflecting “shortfalls in regulation, supervision, governance and transparency in the Panamanian financial system.” Edited December 4, 2016 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted December 5, 2016 Moderators Share Posted December 5, 2016 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Concluye-anticorrupcion-Gobierno-promete-transparencia_21_4636246332.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 19, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 19, 2017 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Parlacen-decision-Panama-comision-investiga_21_4670742883.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 24, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 24, 2017 The Martinelli scandal and the Mossack Fonseca scandal are now officially linked together. See: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/843-whats-next-for-martinelli-his-familiy-and-associates/?do=findComment&comment=13342 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 25, 2017 For the background on this news article, please see: http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Presentan-evaluacion-prevencion-blanqueo-capitales_21_4674492509.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 25, 2017 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Embajadora-Panama-Espana-diplomatica-emotiva_21_4674492511.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 26, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 26, 2017 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Panama-informe-Transparencia-Internacional_21_4675992359.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 4, 2017 Quote Panama suspends Panama Papers investigation The country's attorney general has claimed the probe "has been taken away from us," citing a legal challenge. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether to reactivate the probe into rampant tax avoidance. DW recommends Panama Papers source 'John Doe' sends manifesto to explain data-release actions The anonymous source behind the Panama Papers leake has issued a manifesto explaining his or her motives for releasing the data. "John Doe" also called for action against the corruption at the heart of income inequality. Panama on Tuesday suspended a probe into the so-called Panama Papers, a trove of documents that brought to light widespread tax avoidance among some of the world's most powerful leaders, prosecutors said. Attorney General Kenia Porcell said a legal challenge on constitutional grounds required the suspension, adding that it was now in the hands of the Supreme Court to decide whether to reactivate the investigation. "The investigation cannot continue," Porcell said at a press conference. "Technically, it has been taken away from us." Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the center of the scandal, argued that its documents had been stolen and resulting investigations were therefore based on illegally obtained information. In April, media across the globe reported on the 2.6 terabytes of information handed to German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" by an anonymous source. The Panama Papers were later shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The documents linked, among others, associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and former British Prime Minister David Cameron to offshore companies likely used to avoid paying heavy taxes. The revelations prompted mass protests in Iceland, which led to the country's prime minister to resign. Although offshore companies are not illegal per se, the Panama Papers launched a debate on rampant tax avoidance and money laundering. Watch video 12:03 (clock on next line) Tax havens: A 'global problem' | DW Interview ls/sms (AFP, dpa) http://www.dw.com/en/panama-suspends-panama-papers-investigation/a-37261828 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 10, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 10, 2017 Quote Mossack Fonseca labeled “criminal organization” Posted on February 9, 2017 in Panama Post Views: 75 PANAMA’S Attorney General Kenia Porcell described the Mossac Fonseca law firm as a criminal organization on Thursday, Feb,9. She was speaking at a press conference after Ramón Fonseca Mora and Jürgen Mossack the founders of the law firm Mossack Fonseca were questioned by prosecutors for money laundering laundering as part of a wideranging investigation against the firm, over Lava Jato the multi-billion dollar Brazilian bribery scandal. “The information collected allegedly identifies the Panamanian firm as a criminal organization that is dedicated to hiding assets, money from suspicious origins, and creating corporate and financial structures directly associated with the law firm,” said Porcell in a late afternoon press conference. “The alleged relationship of the Panamanian law firm in the commission of crimes in Brazil also stands out,” she added. Previously, the headquarters of the firm, in Marbella, was raided by a team led by Public rosecutor Ricaurte González. The partners of the firm, Ramón Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack, were summoned to the Office of the Second Prosecutor against Organized Crime for questioning. Porcell reported that charges have been filed against four people, “among them the principal partners.” She thanked prosecutors Rodrigo Janot (Brazil), Pablo Sánchez (Péru), Galo Chiriboga (Ecuador) and Néstor Martínez (Colombia), as well as the Justice Departments of Switzerland and the United States for assisting with the investigation. The prosecutor said that this case is not related to the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry since last April that coincided with publications by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The record of that investigation is in the Judicial Branch, and the Public Ministry has requested its return. Regarding statements by Fonseca, who said that President Juan Carlos Varela had told him that he received donations from Odebrecht, the prosecutor said that “these are statements or comments that will have to be formalized before being presented to the competent authorities.” http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mossack-fonseca-labeled-criminal-organization Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 10, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 10, 2017 Moderator comment: This news article could be posted in either the Mossack Fonseca scandel forum or in the Odebrecht scandal forum (given that the news flash discussed herein is about President Varela being corrupted by Odebrecht). I am opting to place it here in the Mossack Fonseca scandal forum because the press interaction occurred as Messrs Mossack and Fonseca were going into a corruption hearing about their Mossack Fonseca law firm business transactions. (In other words, this could be a diversionary tactic on the part of Mossack Fonseca to take media attention away from them, given that no nexus between Odebrecht and Varela has been provided.) Quote Panama crisis as Varela accused of Odebrecht bribery links Posted on February 9, 2017 in Panama Mossack and Fonseca Post Views: 103 PANAMA’S government was in crisis mode on Thursday Feb.9 after a former adviser to President Juan Carlos Varela, publicly accused him of receiving benefits from the Odebrecht company which has received some $2.5 billion in contracts under his watch. The accusation was made to media by Ramón Fonseca who with Jürgen Mossack, were founding partners of the Mossack Fonseca law firm and were on their way to questioning by the Special AntiCorruption Prosecutor’s Office as part of the investigation into alleged irregular activities in Brazil linked to the Lava Jato bribery scandal. The statements which were quickly published on local broadcast channels, led to an emergency press conference at which Varela denied the allegations and promised to publish the next day details of contributions made do his election campaign Attorney General Kenia Porcell also broadcast that separate investigations were underway into Lava Jato and Odebrecht. Fonseca arrived at the Avesa building on Via Espana which is the headquarters of the anticorruption prosecutor, at 3:30 p.m. Before Mossack arrived Fonseca, the former Panamenista Party president told waiting media that Varela, also had improper ties to Odebrecht, which is charged with bribing officials in a dozen countries. He alleged that the bribes distributed by Odebrecht in Panama go well beyond the $59 million to which the firm had confessed to US authorities in December. He calculated that if Odebrecht obtained contracts in Panama for more than $9 billion, then the bribes that were distributed were “for a billion.” “We have not really investigated here except for Mossack Fonseca, who has nothing to do with it,” ee said. Fonseca said he knew Varela accepted campaign contributions from Odebrecht. He also said that he has repeatedly called for the investigation of the Cinta Costera III project, which was completed by Odebrecht during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli. “As for President Varela, God put him in that position to fix things, to fix the institutions of the country,” he said. The Panama Papers Mossack Fonseca is the subject of another investigation, by the Second Prosecutor against Organized Crime, for the alleged commission of crimes against the economic order. This was prompted by an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which outlined the firm’s practices in structuring offshore companies that in some cases were used to hide fortunes, evade taxes or launder money. In a statement issued Thursday, the firm said that all these actions are carried out “to divert attention” from the Odebrecht investigation and its possible link to the current government. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-crisis-varela-accused-odebrecht-links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 11, 2017 On 2/10/2017 at 7:23 AM, Moderator_02 said: Moderator comment: This news article could be posted in either the Mossack Fonseca scandel forum or in the Odebrecht scandal forum (given that the news flash discussed herein is about President Varela being corrupted by Odebrecht). I am opting to place it here in the Mossack Fonseca scandal forum because the press interaction occurred as Messrs Mossack and Fonseca were going into a corruption hearing about their Mossack Fonseca law firm business transactions. (In other words, this could be a diversionary tactic on the part of Mossack Fonseca to take media attention away from them, given that no nexus between Odebrecht and Varela has been provided.) Moderator comment: Should these allegations gain credibility, then the postings related to President Varela in this Mossack Fonseca corruption topic will be split off into a new topic. It is my assessment at this time and given what little information is available to the public that these allegations are nothing more than a diversionary tactic by the lawyers for Messrs Mossack and Fonseca. Quote Commission mooted to investigate Varela corruption allegations Posted on February 10, 2017 in Panama Post Views: 96 A MOVE to establish a commission to investigate cases of corruption involving the president and other authorities has been started by the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). Pedro Miguel González, PRD General Secretary and deputy said that if the recent denunciations against President Juan Carlos Varela have merit, the National Assembly must investigate to clarify whether it was committed or not. In a Friday. Feb 10 press conference, Gonzalez said that the Constitution of the Republic establishes mechanisms to resolve situations such as those facing the country. The leader of the PRD said he hoped to establish a commission to investigate. The opposition is responding to the accusations expressed yesterday by lawyer Ramón Fonseca Mora, a former collaborator of Varela, who says he received campaign money from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which has confessed to an international network of bribes to obtain contracts in 12 countries. The Second Prosecutor Against Organized Crime ordered the arrest of jurists Ramón Fonseca Mora and Jürgen Mossack, following the raid of the firm they founded, which they relate to the institutionalized corruption case “Lava Jato”, originated in Brazil, and In which Odebrecht participated. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/commission-mooted-investigate-varela-corruption-allegations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 11, 2017 Quote Third Mossack Fonseca man charged in money laundering probe Posted on February 10, 2017 in Panama Post Views: 87 A THIRD PERSON from the Mossack Fonseca law firm was arrested Friday, Feb,10 and taken in for questioning, Edison Ernesto Teano Rivera, who was in charge of dozens of bank accounts of the firm’s foreign clients, follows Thursday’s questioning of the founding partners of the firm, Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, who remained in custody overnight. All three have been charged with money laundering. Teano was identified by federal prosecutors in Brazil as being part of the structure of the Mossack Fonseca office in the South American country. The lawyer was allegedly linked to a complex money laundering scheme involving Panama companies. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/third-mossack-fonseca-man-charged-money-laundering-probe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 11, 2017 http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Superintendencia-Panama-FPB-Lava-Jato_21_4687991156.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 11, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 11, 2017 Moderator comment: The below news article is in follow up to allegations by Messers Mossack and Fonseca that President Varela had been corrupted by Odebrecht. See above postings at: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1912-mossack-fonseca-leak-of-confidential-documents-reveals-tax-havens-the-so-called-panama-papers/?do=findComment&comment=13840 http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1912-mossack-fonseca-leak-of-confidential-documents-reveals-tax-havens-the-so-called-panama-papers/?do=findComment&comment=13875 President Varela promised to release his list of private donors from the presidential election, and this article reports that he followed through with that commitment. http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Donaciones-campana-Varela-sumaron-millones_21_4687991157.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 12, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 12, 2017 Moderator comment: The below news article is in follow up to allegations by Messrs Mossack and Fonseca that President Varela had been corrupted by Odebrecht. See above postings at: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1912-mossack-fonseca-leak-of-confidential-documents-reveals-tax-havens-the-so-called-panama-papers/?do=findComment&comment=13840 http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1912-mossack-fonseca-leak-of-confidential-documents-reveals-tax-havens-the-so-called-panama-papers/?do=findComment&comment=13875 http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1912-mossack-fonseca-leak-of-confidential-documents-reveals-tax-havens-the-so-called-panama-papers/?do=findComment&comment=13890 Quote Business group wants fast action on Varela accusations Posted on February 11, 2017 in Panama Post Views: 85 THE PANAMANIAN Association of Business Executives (APEDE) has called for an immediate, expeditious and exhaustive investigation of the allegations that President Varela received campaign donations from Odebrecht a company that has received over $2 billion in contracts from his administration. In a press release the association described the statements of lawyer Ramón Fonseca Mora as ‘serious”, since they have undoubtedly generated a deep and justified concern in the citizenship”. The statement said that “such serious accusations warrant immediate, expeditious and exhaustive investigation by the competent authorities.” They also call on the authorities to “show their firm commitment to combat corruption at all costs.” After releasing the communiqué, members of the business organization met with Attorney General of the Nation, Kenia Porcell, to request concrete actions in the investigations carried out by the Public Ministry. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/business-group-wants-fast-action-varela-accusations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 12, 2017 Moderators Share Posted February 12, 2017 Quote Mossack Fonseca partners behind bars Posted on February 11, 2017 in Panama Fonseca Mora's home Post Views: 143 THE FOUNDING partners of the Mossack Fonseca law firm and a third lawyer are behind bars in the Police headquarters at Ancon, after raids on their homes and questioning by the Second Prosecutor against Organized Crime. Jurgen Mossack’s home Interrogation of Ramón Fonseca Mora and Jürgen Mossack, and Edison Teano had been suspended while raids were carried out on the homes and offices of the suspects, but resumed later and went on until 1.30 am on Saturday, Feb 11. They were questioned about the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering. Marlen Guerra, Mossack’s lawyer, said that the prosecution alleged “the possibility of escape” in decreeing the pre-trial detention. Elías Solano, attorney for Fonseca Mora said that the charges were very flimsy. ” The proceedings began at 8:30 p.m., after raids on the homes of Fonseca Mora and lMossack, in Altos del Golf, San Francisco, and the Lawyer Sara Montenegro, in the building PH Office One, in Calle 50. Montenegro worked until recently at Mossack Fonseca, but is now part of the Avant Garde Legal Alliance. Officials inspected documents, computers and material relevant to the investigation, linked to the Lava Jato operation, under scrutiny of the Brazilian authorities, after detecting a complex network of companies that were used to conceal bribes. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mossack-fonseca-partners-behind-bars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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