Panama is involved in the scandal of the company Odebrecht | NTN24

Sitting alongside dozens of workers wearing helmets and jackets, Panama's President, Juan Carlos Varela, posed last month for a shared selfie after inaugurating the latest Odebrecht project in this Central American country. : the Brazilian company to whom millions of bribes have been thrown away. a cloud on Sunday's elections

With the walkie-talkie in hand, Varela gave the order to deploy trains on Subway Line 2, a high monorail system built for the Panama City by the Brazilian giant and the FCC of Spain , according to AFP.

Varela is banned from running for a second term, but the outgoing president has been severely criticized for not canceling public contracts with Odebrecht, who admitted to paying at least $ 59 million in bribes in Panama between 2010 and 2014.

"The question of Odebrecht will be a hot potato for anyone entering the government, it will be a problem that will not go away easily," said Magaly Castillo, head of a citizens' justice group. .

The Brazilian company is a leading construction company in Central America. It has completed 17 megaprojects since 2005, ranging from roads and highways to hydroelectric and urban renovation, for an estimated $ 10 billion.

"We are paying a significant premium on all these megaprojects," said Annette Planells of the Independent Movement (Movin), one of many groups demanding changes to Panama's procurement legislation.

The law was amended, but an amendment subordinated the forfeiture for bribery to an earlier conviction by the Panamanian courts. Odebrecht, which is banned in Colombia and Mexico for contracts with states, may continue to prospect in Panama.

– & # 39; Not so easy & # 39; –

The main candidates in Sunday's presidential election voted in favor of a reform allowing the disqualification of companies accused of corruption.

However, the thousands of jobs created by the multinational and the compensation agreement reached between Odebrecht and the Justice Department do not make things easier, according to experts.

Odebrecht has already agreed to pay the government $ 220 million in 12-year reparations and to cooperate with the investigators against corruption, under an agreement with Brazilian and Panamanian prosecutors.

The agreement gives Odebrecht leaders in Panama immunity from prosecution in exchange for full cooperation with investigators, including the appointment of politicians and officials to take control.

"Disqualification is a very complex issue that many campaigners are clinging to, but the legal solution is not easy," said Olga de Obaldia, Executive Director of Transparency International's Panamanian Section.

"A country-to-country agreement will not be canceled all at once," De Obaldia told AFP.

Some badysts worry that, if he is disqualified, Odebrecht simply does not pay the fine, alleging a lack of cash.

"What would be in danger would be the fine of $ 200 million," he said.

– Corruption – like tango & # 39; –

Odebrecht is at the center of the biggest corruption scandal in Latin America, which has shaken governments and political parties in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and other countries, and sent presidents and senior jail.

In Panama, about 80 people have been accused of having facilitated the corruption of the large-scale Brazilian company, including the sons of former president Ricardo Martinelli.

According to prosecutors, they would be accused of having collected $ 56 million from Odebrecht to pave the way for the company via the Panamanian bureaucracy.

Several former ministers of Martenelli were also arrested as part of the investigation. Although no one has been brought to justice, prosecutors believe that the tentacles of the scandal affect the last three Panamanian governments.

Meanwhile, the new pbadenger terminal at Tocumen International Airport in Panama has just been inaugurated.

Odebrecht also built it. And he plans to continue building in Panama.

"Odebrecht has not invented the corruption he has used, developed and exploited at levels never before known in Latin America," said Francesco Bustamante, a former economist at the Inter-American Development Bank.

"Would corruption cease if it were prevented from bidding for contracts in Panama?

"No, because corruption is like tango, you have to be two to dance."

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