THE LONG RUMORED interference in the affairs of Petaquilla Minerals, by former president Ricardo Martinellie have been brought into the limelight with a move by a group of shareholders of the Canadian mining company Petaquilla Minerals,  in an attempt to recover part of their investment through the courts.

Meanwhile, work at the Molejon gold mine in Colón remains suspended, and workers are awaiting long overdue pay.
Last week Spanish investors sought arbitration before the World Bank for the alleged interference of former Martinelli in the management of Petaquilla Minerals and all its subsidiaries.
The Spanish shareholders in the company Iberia Resources Corporation, which manages the projects of the mining company in Spain and Portugal, said that Martinelli sought to place his relatives on the board of directors of the company and its subsidiary, Petaquilla Gold, in order to take control of them.
Since the end of 2013, work at the mine has been paralyzed due to lack of funds. The company has been unable to raise the capital it needs to restart.
The request for arbitration was signed by Pascual Montañés Duato and José María Blanc.
According to an agreement between Panama and Spain, arbitration is the first step before legal action.
The applicants indicate that Martinelli threatened to withhold approval of permits needed by the project if the company did not place his designees on the board of directors. The Spanish shareholders are demanding compensation of $2.3 billion, money that would serve to compensate investors in Panama and Spain, reports La Prensa
Mayte Pelligrino, involved in the Financial Pacific scandal has alleged that Martinelli had an account at the brokerage which he used to manipulate shares of Petaquilla Minerals on the Toronto Stock Exchange.