FIVE  HIGH PROFILE  Panamanians named by informers in Brazil and Panama as recipients of bribes have two things in common, they all call the witness statements lies,  and they all had links to a Panamanian company created to channel black funds from the Odebrecht, through the bribery department known as "Box 2".

Aeon Group Inc. sent millions of dollars to former ministers of the previous administration, as well as the sons of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, say the informers.

Aeon Group Inc is one of dozens of Odebrecht companies formed to keep Panama corruption oiled along with other countries in the area reports La Prensa.

They are part of a group under the control of Odebrecht Box 2, which sent black funds to Kleinfeld Services, a company linked to conspicuous members of the ruling  Panameñista Party reveals the   La Prensa investigation.

The partnership which unites several former ministers and the sons of former President Ricardo Martinelli is a  club, whose common denominator was to receive dirty money from the Brazilian group.

The company  was created in Panama, but the money deposited to the designated persons   by the Odebrecht  bribery department went  to  Switzerland and/or Andorra

Aeon Group is related, to companies that, in turn, have been linked to the Martinelli sons, Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares; to former Minister of Public Works Jaime Ford; to ex-finance minister  Frank De Lima; to tawyer Mauricio Cort and other companies investigated by the Public Ministry.

Versatility
The Aeon Group paper company, had great versatility when it came to signing multi-million dollar agreements says La Prensa. e.g., the Martinelli Linares brothers' societies.

Mengil International Limited,  one of the companies linked to them signed an agreement for the supply of fuel, to the  Aeon Group. But the contract was fictitious and was to justify to he Private Bank of Andorra the arrival of $13.4 million to their accounts in that bank.

The same happened with Pachira Limited.  The company signed an advisory agreement with Aeon Group, in which the latter would be the client and Pachira the consultant with contract in hand, to justify k the transfer of $16.5 million,

In total, the Martinelli brothers received about $30 million from the Aeon Group, for the alleged sale of fuel and for expensive financial advice.

To allay suspicions, the accounts of both companies were subscribed by people other than the brothers because at that time - as children of a ruler - they were politically exposed persons (PEP).

There is evidence connecting  Aeon Group with other companies that were intermediaries for black funds from Odebrecht, in Andorra.

The third agreement signed by Aeon Group was, with Westfall. It was a real estate investment advisory agreement, in which Aeon would be the client and Westfall the adviser. The paper company said it needed advice for the promotion of works valued at $200 million in the  Dominican Republic and Panama, For these “services”, Westfall would receive $4 million.

According to the whistleblowers, the purpose of the contract was to justify to the bank the transfer of bribes to Ford, who denies linkage.

There is evidence from local and Brazilian informers, that the Ralfim company is linked to former  Finance Minister Frank De Lima, who would receive $7 million.

De Lima says they lied to harm his good name and reputation, but an unexpected bonanza knocked on his door immediately after entering the public service in 2009.

José Luis Saiz Villanueva, confessed to anti-corruption prosecutors: "I received a request from Frank De Lima to receive payments on his behalf. I accepted the request and he told me that André Rabello would contact  me.” Rabello - then head  of Odebrecht Panama- told him that in addition to paying $370,000  to Herzone Overseas Limited,  for his professional services "other payments were going to be included for Frank De Lima." The first would be $2.5 million and then $2 million more.

According to a second whistleblower and signatory of the Ralfim Limited account -Olmedo Méndez Tribaldos-  received $3,250,000.  This was the fourth contract signed by Aeon Group in favor of officials and Panamanian entrepreneurs, to be able to receive black funds from Odebrecht without raising suspicions. due to the PEP status of senior officials, it was necessary to use the services of frontmen.

Aeon Group also sent funds to a company -Cort Business Brokers & Consultors Inc.- managed by local lawyer  Mauricio Cort,   related to several offshore companies under investigation by the Public Ministry.

Box 2
Odebrecht's “Box 2” managed dozens of foreign companies to handle the millions of dollars paid in bribes to political leaders and officials or their families.

The accounts were managed by financial operators who had a portfolio of societies from which they distributed bribes. on the orders of  The Structured Operations Sector, made transactions according to the instructions of each country manager.