Martinelli spokesman calls audits fraudulent

THE FIRST  five audits by Panama’s Comptroller General of  construction  projects during the Ricardo Martinelli administration were “fraudulent” according to the former president’s spin doctor Luis Eduardo Camacho.

"These works were what are known as turnkey projects, where the person who wins the tender not only has to design the project and develop it, but also has to finance it, and the project contractor's search for financing generates costs that other tenders of another type do not generate,” Camacho, said Friday, Apr 28.

The Comptroller's Office revealed Wednesday that it detected extra costs for a total of $318.38 million in five projects awarded by the Martinelli Government (2009-2014) under a reorganization program in the Panamanian capital.

These are the Preservation Heritage Panama City, and Cinta Costera III projects, developed by Odebrecht; Corridor Vía Brasil, Sections I and II, awarded to the Spanish FCC; And the expansion of Avenida Domingo Díaz, built by the consortium made up of Ingenieros Civiles y Asociados SA (ICA) of Mexico, and Constructora Meco SA (Costa Rica), according to available information.

The Comptroller said that these 5 projects "were born with surcharges since their origin in the Ministry of Public Works" since the reference prices established by that office "were above the reality of the prices that the industry estimates for the market”

The "final price" of the 5 works totaled $ 1,730.9 million when the "reasonable price" was $ 1,412.5 million, said the report, that the comptroller Federico Humbert, handed over to the Public Prosecutor's Office on Friday.

"The audits of the Comptroller's Office do not contemplate the cost of the ITBMS (Tax on the Transfer of Personal Assets and the Provision of Services) that the contractors have to pay to the State, and this ITBMS is always charged in the final cost of the project, "added Camacho.

Martinelli, self-exiled in the United States has a formal request for extradition to face a case of illegal wiretapping, one of about 10 criminal cases he faces in his country for Crimes against public administration.

"Martinelli, who claims to be the victim of political persecution, Tweeted:  "7% of itbms paid by contractors to the state count as overcharges in the works audited by candidate Humbert (sic)."

Camacho called for Humbert's resignation for having conducted "fraudulent" audits and for allegedly using the Comptroller's Office as a platform to publicize the 2019 presidential election in which he wants to run.

In February, Humbert announced audits of 7 infrastructure projects developed in recent years, including those of Odebrecht, which is in the eye of a hurricane after it admitted to the US Justice Department. It paid millions of dollars in bribes to obtain contracts in a dozen countries, including Panama.