Panama News Briefs

By Ereida Prieto-Barreiro for the Panama America - Fernando Solórzano said the application of sanctions would fall to the Comptroller. Although the director of the Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP), Fernando Solórzano, confirmed that Luis Ramírez, the Panamanian consul in Rotterdam, Holland, owes $696,075 dollars to his organization, sanctions called for in the Fiscal Code have not yet been applied. Just a few days before the end of the current administration of Martin Torrijos, Solórzano said it "falls to the Comptroller Carlos Vallarino to execute the pertinent sanctions" as established in articles 22 and 23 of the Fiscal Code. Sanctions can be fines as high as $500 dollars as well as the destitution of the violator if necessary. "I do not want anyone to say the AMP is not doing its job, because we have the actual numbers and we have exchanged information with the auditors of the Comptroller," he said. He went on to say the only thing his organization can do is to retain the certification of good standing from the consulates, until they pay the money owed into the account of the Authority. If they do not pay, Solórzano said the cases will be sent to a judge responsible for AMP cases in order to collect the money owed. The Panama América tried to interview Carlos Vallarino, the Comptroller, but was told that his busy schedule that would prevent him from commenting. Irregularities - The Rotterdam consulate is not the only one that has not made required payments - there is a total debt of $1.3 million dollars outstanding from the various consuls that have to be paid to the AMP. Nevertheless, the details of which consuls owe money was not provided and it was pointed out that "this is not the first time" that outgoing consuls have not paid the money they owe to the government. There are former consuls who owe a total of $1.2 million dollars that the judge executor is trying to collect, he added. Faced with this situation, Solórzano said on Friday of last week he sent a note to Ramirez asking him to pay the money owed. He said Ramirez has until the last day of his term in office to pay the money owed, because the Comptroller send an audit report to the Anti Corruption Prosecutor to determine if there has been an irregular handling of the information coming out of the consulate during his term. He said that not only the Comptroller's auditors found irregularities in the information forwarded by Ramirez, but also those of the AMP, because they receive the first reports in detail from the consulates. Debt - Information of the AMP reveals the National Bank of Panama “has not received” transfers due in December 2008, nor those due from January through May of 2009 from Ramirez. In addition the Department of Consular Financial Control said it has not yet reported on April and May of 2009. (See Comments)

Editor's Comment: Running for cover. The Director of the AMP wants to make sure that he's not the one held responsible for the shortfalls of cash that was supposed to have been paid by the various consuls around the world. Did you catch the fine? A measly $500 bucks, when the guy already has almost $700,000 dollars in his pocket. Guess what - he'll just keep the money and pay the fine, of course. It can't be all that hard to tighten down on these guys. And if Ramirez in Rotterdam has not made a payment since November 2008, what has the AMP been doing to make him comply in the past seven months? Why are we only hearing about this on 24 June 2009, just a week before Martinelli takes office. This exact kind of thing is happening all around the government, with people trying to cover their asses before they head out the door.

FISCALIZACION... A POCOS DIAS DE SALIR DEL GOBIERNO, NO HAN REPORTADO MAS DE B/. 1. 3 MILLONES AL FISCO

Cónsules adeudan millones

El de Róterdam en Holanda adeuda más de B/696 mil y no ha recibido ninguna sanción por la morosidad.

Ereida Prieto-BarreiroPA-DIGITAL

AMP. Fernando Solórzano señala que las sanciones corresponden al Contralor.

Apesar de que el director de la Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP), Fernando Solórzano, confirmó que el cónsul de Panamá en Róterdam, Holanda, Luis Ramírez, adeuda B/696.075,45 a esa entidad, aún no se le aplican las sanciones que estipula el Código Fiscal.

A pocos días para que culmine la actual administración, Solórzano dijo que corresponde al contralor Carlos Vallarino "ejecutar las sanciones pertinentes" como establecen los artículos 22 y 23 del Código Fiscal.

Las sanciones pueden ser multas que ascienden hasta 500 balboas, así como solicitarse la destitución del infractor de ser necesario.

"No quiero que se diga que la AMP no está haciendo su trabajo, porque tenemos las cifras actualizadas que informamos e intercambiamos con los auditores de la Contraloría", sostuvo.

El directivo indicó que “lo único” que puede hacer esa entidad es retener la certificación de finiquito de paz y salvo a los cónsules, hasta que hagan efectivo los dineros en la cuenta de la Autoridad.

De darse lo contrario, enfatizó Solórzano, se remitirán los casos a un juez ejecutor de la AMP para que cobre los mismos.

Panamá Américaintentó entrevistar al Contralor, sin embargo, se informó que tenía una "agenda apretada", por lo que no emitiría comentario.

Irregularidades. El consulado de Róterdam no es el único que está en “mora”, existe un faltante de B/1.3 millones de varios cónsules que no han entregado los dineros a la AMP.

Sin embargo, no se detalló qué cónsules se encuentran en esta situación, pero resaltó que "no es la primera vez” que estos terminan su gestión y no entregan los dineros adeudados.

Hay ex cónsules que adeudan B/1.2 millones y el juez ejecutor está tratando de cobrar, advirtió.

Ante la situación, Solórzano informó que el viernes de la semana pasada, remitió una nota a Ramírez para se "ponga al día" con las transferencias de dinero.

Manifestó que Ramírez tiene hasta el último día de su gestión para entregar los recaudos, debido a que la Contraloría envió un informe de auditoría a la Fiscalía Anticorrupción para determinar si hay un manejo irregular de sus informes consulares o de su gestión.

Aclaró que no sólo los auditores de la Contraloría detectaron irregularidades en los informes de Ramírez, sino también los de la AMP, ente que recibe en primera instancia el detalle de los informes de los consulados.

Deuda. Informes de la AMP revelan que el Banco Nacional de Panamá “no ha recibido” las transferencias de diciembre de 2008, así como las de enero a mayo de este año por parte de Ramírez.

Asimismo que el Departamento de Control Financiero Consular indicó que no ha entregado los informes de abril y mayo.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This afternoon the judges of Panama's Electoral Tribunal are meeting with Panama's Solicitor General Ana Matilde Gomez to define exactly who is responsible to investigate the complaints surrounding the statements of David Murcia. Balbina Herrera filed a complaint against Ricardo Martinelli yesterday, alleging that his company is the real "narco campaign" and that his business connections to David Murcia's DMG group should be investigated. Today Ana Matilde Gomez said she would be sending a third formal delegation to Colombia in order to take formal statements from David Murcia with regards to his political donations in Panama.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - David Murcia is above all things a master confidence man. He started his DMG business in Colombia and eventually lived in Panama for three years as "just another businessman." He managed to create a vast network around an investment scheme that was really nothing more than a complicated Ponzi scheme, and to pull off something like that you have to be both slick and smart. So, is he lying when he makes his statements about political contributions and Panamanian politicians? Who do you believe? Remember, he was hauled out of Panama in handcuffs and delivered on a silver plate to the Colombian authorities, and he's been in prison ever since. Of course he's pissed off at the administration of Martin Torrijos and the PRD - he probably thought he was relatively safe from Colombian justice in Panama, or at least safe enough to fly someplace nice to spend the rest of this life spending other people's money. The primary axis of the PRD's response to the allegations being laid down by Murcia revolve around the concept of "consider the source." We are reminded that Murcia is a con man and money launderer, so of course he's not telling the truth, right? (more)

Put It In Context: Remember, Murcia reportedly made his campaign contributions back in June of 2008. At that time Balbina Herrera was emerging as the hottest thing going for the PRD. That party had not yet held their primary elections. Ricardo Martinelli had not yet emerged as the center piece of an opposition alliance. It looked like a very good bet (at the time) that Balbina Herrera could very well win the next election and become Panama's next president.

Murcia Didn't Want To Back Balbina Herrera: He would rather that a businessman like Ricardo Martinelli win the election, because he considers Balbina Herrera to be an extreme leftist. But, being a businessman, he supposedly made his political contribution anyway, because at that time it looked like she was going to win. He even went on to say that it's common for businessmen like him to "donate to all of the candidates" because you can never really be sure who is going to win, and "you don't want to be left backing the wrong person" or "find yourself left without a winning candidate."

Martinelli Doesn't Need The Money: Back when Ricardo Martinelli started to emerge in the polls as the leader of the opposition ticket, I started asking around to figure out why people were gravitating to him. One of the most common responses went something like "I can trust him not to take bribes or to be corrupted because he's already rich and he has his own money already." The concept is simple - if you have your own money, it's harder for someone else to buy you out or corrupt you. Makes sense. Balbina Herrera is accusing Ricardo Martinelli of having done business with Murcia's DMG company, but in fact there were 184 (or more) companies that were all participating in the same type of program as the Super99 grocery stores. So, and accusation against Ricardo Martinelli is, by default and logical extrapolation, an accusation against all of those other companies as well. It just doesn't stand up, logically speaking. Politically speaking, it makes all the sense in the world for Balbina Herrera to be making her accusations - she has less than two months to go before the election and her ship is taking on water by the gallon. She's probably going to lose the election, so she literally has nothing to lose by pulling out all the stops.

"The Con Man Has My Confidence" Don't they always? David Murcia's story simply rings true. It he's lying, then how are we ever going to know? It's impossible, of course. And in that respect, his tactic of dropping political hand grenades right smack dab into the middle of the Panamanian electoral process is working very nicely, thank you very much. Now, on 12 March 2009, it has become apparent through the polling data that Ricardo Martinelli is going to win. How many other people out there received promises from the PRD, saying that after the elections are over and the PRD wins again, then everything will be made right. Take it from me, there's another serious and significant case brewing out there that will make David Murcia and his bags full of cash look like small potatoes when it goes off. There is someone sitting in prison right now who was supposedly paid to take the fall and keep his mouth shut, and after the election was over he's supposed to be sprung by the new PRD administration. That guy can also read the papers, and now that Balbina looks like a loser, why should he continue to keep his mouth shut? Have you figured out who it is? Obviously, more to come...

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - David Murcia is claiming that he gave $6 million dollars in cash to Roberto Velasquez, the father of "Bobby" Velasquez, as an "investment" in the political campaigns of Velasquez and Balbina Herrera. That got me thinking - exactly how much does $6 million dollars in cash weigh? Well, the Internet is a wonderful thing that allows us to instantly satisfy any whimsical desire for arcane trivia. Of course it depends on the denomination, but $6 million dollars in $100 bills would weigh only 122.4 pounds. To make $6 million dollars you would need 60,000 $100 dollar bills. Someone has raised the issue that "you can't find that many $100 dollar bills in Panama." True, but that's only in the banks and only within legitimate business circles. Remember, David Murcia was, at the heart of it all, a money launderer for drug traffickers. One thing drug traffickers have is piles and piles of illegitimate cash. If the donation was made in $20 dollar bills, then 300,000 would be required to make $6 million bucks, and that little package would weigh in at 612 pounds (a.k.a. "hernia".) But then again, what better way to "launder" a whole bunch of cold, hard cash in one shot? At any rate, $6 million dollars is a lot of money and it should not be too hard of a chore for investigators from the Public Ministry to check with the media outlets (where most of the money is spent), do the math, and compare that to the lists of political donations. Still, there are lots of ways to put cash to work where it will do a lot of good, politically speaking, that are completely "off the books." In the end this comes down to who do you believe...

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By SANTIAGO FASCETTO for La Prensa - The agreement at which David Murcia Guzmán arrived with Roberto "Bobby" Velasquez and his father, for which Murcia gave $6 million dollars to be split equally and given to the political campaigns of Bobby Velasquez and Balbina Herrera, was not the only contact Murcia had with the PRD. The businessman said that, in addition, he met with one of the finance coordinators of the Herrera campaign. “I met with Budy Attie because he was securing money for Herrera's campaign," said Murcia during an interview he granted to La Prensa last Tuesday in the jail where he is being held in Picota, Colombia. Murcia said he told Attie his idea was to contribute money in exchange for future contracts with the PRD government, with the idea being to get his money back, but that his offer was rejected. “It was not possible to close the deal, because he wanted us to simply make a donation to the campaign," Murcia said. The Colombian emphasized that he did manage to negotiate that same deal with "Bobby" Velasquez and his father Roberto, in which he gave them $6 million dollars for the two campaigns, with the condition that it would not be considered a donation but rather an investment that would allow him, with the PRD in power, to recover his money. “When they [Bobby and Roberto Velasquez] became committed that it was to be considered an investment, then we closed the deal through them," said Murcia. Attie is the President of a company called "Trabajando por Panama 2009 S.A." that was created to collect funds for the political campaign of Balbina Herrera. He has a different version. He said a businessman asked him to meet Murcia at the Sheraton hotel. Once there, Murcia began to talk to him about his company, and that a few minutes later he said that he wanted to contribute money to the Herrera campaign. “I told him no, and I left. The meeting did not last 15 minutes," he said.

Murcia tuvo contacto con campaña de HerreraEl empresario colombiano detenido en La Picota dijo que mantuvo una reunión con uno de los coordinadores de finanzas de la campaña de Balbina Herrera.

SANTIAGO FASCETTOUNIDAD DE INVESTIGACIÓNENVIADO ESPECIAL A COLOMBIA sfascetto@prensa.com

El acuerdo al que llegó David Murcia Guzmán con Roberto Bobby Velásquez y su padre, por el cual el dueño de DMG le entregó 6 millones de dólares para ser repartidos en partes iguales entre la campaña del candidato a alcalde capitalino y la campaña de la postulante a la Presidencia, Balbina Herrera, no fue el único contacto que tuvo Murcia con el PRD.

El empresario dijo que, además, mantuvo un encuentro con uno de los coordinadores de finanzas de la campaña de Herrera.

“Me reuní con Budy Attie porque él estaba consiguiendo dinero para la campaña de Herrera”, dijo Murcia durante una entrevista que le concedió –el martes pasado– a este diario en la cárcel de La Picota, en Colombia.

El dueño de DMG afirmó que le transmitió a Attie su idea de aportar dinero a cambio de contratos futuros en un gobierno PRD –con la idea de recuperar el dinero–, pero que este rechazó el ofrecimiento. “No se pudo cerrar, porque él quería que solamente realizáramos donaciones a la campaña”, manifestó Murcia.

El colombiano destacó que luego sí logró cerrar el acuerdo con Bobby Velásquez y su padre, mediante el cual desembolsó $6 millones para las dos campañas, con la condición de que no sería una donación sino una inversión que le permitiría, con el PRD en el poder, recuperar la plata. “Cuando ellos [los Velásquez] se comprometieron a que se iba a invertir, entonces cerramos el acuerdo por ese lado”, dijo Murcia.

Attie es presidente de la empresa Trabajando por Panamá dos mil nueve, S.A., que se creó para recaudar fondos para la campaña de Herrera. Él tiene otra versión: contó que un empresario le pidió que conociera a Murcia en una reunión en el hotel Sheraton. Una vez allí, Murcia le comenzó a hablar de su empresa, y que minutos después le comentó que quería aportar dinero a la campaña de Herrera. “Le dije que no, y me fui. La reunión no duró más de 15 minutos”, aseguró.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Man, this is funny. TVN Channel 2 has a exclusive sit-down interview with David Murcia in prison, and they are letting it out in short little segments - drip, drip, drip. Today he calls Balbina Herrera an "extreme leftist" and says that if she were elected it would be a disaster for Panama. He fears the government might eventually nationalize businesses, causing investor and capital flight. He said obviously he would prefer if a businessman like Ricardo Martinelli who has more experience in the realm of business were elected (...cut...). TVN is handling this interview like it's solid gold which they will be using all week to keep viewers glued to their sets. Fun and games. One guy who managed to scam thousands of people out of millions of dollars is absolutely dominating the Panamanian political scene. I suspect this entire scenario will be used by countless students working on their Master's Degrees in Political Science and Information Warfare for years. Classic. Let out a drip, wait for a reaction, catch them in a lie, let out another drip, cause another reaction, (get a new interview), and sell a whole bunch of advertising as people tune into the controversy. The net effect will be minimal on the Martinelli campaign - he had it locked up before all of this started. The kicker is Bobby Velasquez - his numbers might take a significant hit, and although he will still probably pull off a win, there's still time for an upset.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

TVN Noticias - After the impressive statements made by David Murcia Guzmán in an exclusive interview with TVN News, the PRD candidate for the mayorship of Panama City, Bobby Velasquez, admitted that he did in fact meet with him. The candidate, who after the first declarations made by Murcia denied knowing the Colombian, now confirms that he did meet with Murcia, to discuss business as he has done with many businessmen, and he stressed and reiterated that he has never received a single cent from Murcia. David Murcia Guzmán in the interview said he approved a payment of $6 million dollars for the political campaigns of Bobby Velasquez and Balbina Herrera, and he directly identified Roberto Velasquez, the father of Bobby Velasquez, and the person who made the contact. Both candidates have denied ever having received money from Murcia. Herrera said she never does business with companies involved in drug trafficking, and Velasquez said he never received money from Murcia. Last week Velasquez made a list of political donors public, and some of them accompanied him to the offices of the Electoral Tribubal. (See Comments)

Editor's Comment: There exists such a thing as "information initiative." In this still developing situation with David Murcia and his statements regarding political donations to Bobby Velasquez and Balbina Herrera, the two candidates are in a reactive mode and they have lost the initiative. Recently, in responding to Murcia's earlier statements that both of the campaigns of Bobby Velasquez and Balbina Herrera came "knocking at this door," Velasquez denied ever having met with Murcia. Today information emerged that there is apparently videotape or other concrete evidence proving that statement to be a lie. Now, caught in a lie, Velasquez comes clean. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that "Bobby's" credibility is taking a huge hit. In fact, although everyone in the PRD is heartily denying just about everything Murcia is saying, in fact most people on the street seem to have a tendency to believe that Murcia's statements are in fact true. It's funny that a guy like Murcia has more credibility that two primary PRD political candidates in Panama, but in fact his story is very believable. Everyone knows that politicians in Panama take bribes, right? I mean, that's common knowledge. His statements simply ring true to most ears, and the politicians are running to cover their tracks. Balbina Herrera is taking the tactic of trying to flip the situation on Martinelli, accusing him of money laundering, fraud, and illegal collaboration with a criminal. She's making a big show of going to the offices of the Attorney General and making statements from their steps, calling Martinelli's the "narco campaign." It keeps getting more and more interesting, and it's going to be a fun ride to the elections.

Bobby Velásquez acepta haberse reunido con Murcia

11/Mar/2009 | Redacción | vistas: 1285

Luego de las impactantes declaraciones que hiciera el líder de DMG, David Murcia Guzmán, en su entrevista exclusiva con TVN Noticias, el candidato a la Alcaldía Capitalina por el PRD, Roberto "Bobby" Velásquez, reconoció que si se reunió con él.

El candidato que después de las primeras declaraciones de Murcia negó conocer al colombiano, ahora confirmó que sí se reunió con Murcia, para hablar de negocios como lo ha hecho con muchos empresarios, al paso que recalcó y reiteró que nunca ha recibido un sólo centavo de Murcia.

David Murcia Guzmán en la entrevista dijo que aprobó seis millones de dólares para la campaña de Bobby Velásquez y Balbina Herrera y señaló directamente a Roberto Velásquez padre como la persona que hizo el contacto.

Ambos candidatos han negado haber recibido dinero de Murcia. Herrera ha dicho que nunca tuvo tratos con empresas involucradas al narcotráfico y Velásquez reitera no haber recibido dinero de Murcia.

La semana pasada el Candidato a la Alcaldía Capitalina hizo pública su lista de donantes e incluso se hizo acompañar por algunos de ellos al Tribunal Electoral.

By Getzalette Reyes for La Prensa - The Minister of the Presidency, Rafael Mezquita, today rejected claims made by David Murcia that the government of Martin Torrijos has had any kind of connection with the activities of businessman David Murcia Guzmán, who is accused of laundering drug money and illegally using funds (in a Ponzi scheme.) "The only participation any element of Panamanian state security has had with Mr. David Murcia Guzmán was during his arrest and transfer to the Tocumen International Airport for this rapid extradition to Colombia," said Mezquita, through and official press release from the Presidency of the Republic. (more) (See Comments)

Editor's Comment: The journalists and news organizations who talked to David Murcia in Bogota are doing a kind of "slow drip" of the story, to see how those most effected react and to basically create more news with the bombshell's Murcia is dropping. And of course, Murcia makes his allegations, and everyone involved simply rushes to deny whatever he is saying and to remind everyone that he's the one who is in jail. Yesterday both Bobby Velasquez and Balbina Herrera energetically denied having received a dime from Murcia in campaign donations. Today, there's this allegation that supposedly SPI agents provided security to Murcia while he was in Panama. What's more likely is that Panamanian authorities got word from Colombia that the entire DMG network was going to fall apart, and the "security" was really a form of very close police escort or surveillance, so they could arrest him quickly when the time came.

(Comments End, Article Continues)

Mezquita added that "in the registries of the Institutional Protection Service (SPI) there are no entries related to any security services offered by the members of that institution to Mr. Murcia or any of this collaborators." He also clarified that when Murcia was arrested he was being accompanied by Alfonso Mosley Martínez, a former SPI agent who was terminated on 13 March 1995; that is to say, 13 years ago. Mezquita denied it was he who made arrangements so Murcia could move within the country.

The minister said he assumed possession of the position of Ministry of the Presidency on 18 November 2008, and the next day Murcia was arrested by Panamanian authorities.

He said that anyone who has proof or evidence regarding the participation of members of Panamanian state security participating in this type of activity should present them so they can be properly investigated.

In an interview granted to La Prensa, Murcia Guzmán ─ from the jail where he is being held in Picota, in Bogota ─ said government escorts “gave be protection." "They accompanied me during the last month I was in Panama."

Gobierno rechaza vinculación con Murcia Guzmán

Getzalette ReyesDe prensa.comgreyes@prensa.comCORTESÍA/Semana

11:18 a.m. - El ministro de la Presidencia, Rafael Mezquita, rechazó hoy que el Gobierno haya tenido una vinculación con las actividades del empresario David Murcia Guzmán, acusado por el supuesto blanqueo de capitales producto del narcotráfico y de la captación ilegal de dinero.

“La única participación que ha tenido un estamento de seguridad del Estado panameño con el señor David Murcia Guzmán fue durante su arresto y conducción al Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen para su pronta extradición a Colombia”, aseguró Mezquita, a través de un comunicado de la Presidencia de la República.

Mezquita añadió que “en los registros del Servicio de Protección Institucional (SPI) no aparece ningún servicio de seguridad brindado por miembros de la institución al señor Murcia o a alguno de sus secuaces”.

Asimismo, aclaró que cuando Murcia fue detenido le acompañaba Alfonso Mosley Martínez, un ex agente del SPI que fue dado de baja el 13 de marzo de 1995; es decir, 13 años atrás.

Mezquita negó que haya sido él quien cuadrara la seguridad para que Murcia se movilizara dentro del país. El ministro recordó que tomó posesión del cargo en el Ministerio de la Presidencia el 18 de noviembre de 2008 y, un día después, fue la captura de Murcia por parte de las autoridades panameñas.

El funcionario exhortó a quienes tengan pruebas de la participación de miembros del estamento de seguridad en este tipo de tareas que las presenten para proceder a investigar el caso.

En una entrevista concedida a La Prensa, Murcia Guzmán ─ desde la cárcel La Picota, en Bogotá ─ dijo que escoltas del Gobierno “me dieron protección”. “Me acompañaron el último mes que estuve en Panamá”.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This afternoon both Balbina Herrera and Bobby Velasquez denied having received any money from David Murcia, who is currently in prison in Colombia awaiting trial on money laundering charges. Both of the PRD candidates tried to turn to discussion toward Ricardo Martinelli, and categorically denied having taken a dime from Murcia. When asked if she would participate in and help and potential investigation on the part of Panama's Public Ministry or Electoral Tribunal into these allegations, Balbina Herrera sidestepped the question and failed to answer with a simple yes or no. No matter what happens, this election in Panama just got a whole lot more interesting, and you can expect these allegations to make international news.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By Adam Thomson in Panama City for the Financial Times.com - The head of the Panama Canal Authority has rejected fears that corruption and the global financial crisis could mar ambitious plans to expand capacity of the inter-ocean seaway. Four consortiums, comprising many of the world’s leading engineering and construction companies, are expected tomorrow to submit bids to design and build a set of locks for the canal. The estimated $5.25bn (€4.2bn, £3.7bn) project, by far Panama’s largest infrastructure endeavour since the canal was completed in 1914, aims to double capacity and is considered vital to accommodate recent global shipping trends. (more)

However, the project’s sheer size and ambition have raised concerns in some circles, given the history of corruption that has been associated with many large state-funded endeavours in Latin America.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Alberto Alemán, administrator of the ACP, the autonomous government agency that runs the canal, dismissed such concerns.

“I just don’t see it,” he said. “The way we have conducted this process is by being transparent and open and I don’t expect this [contract] to be any different.”

Mr Alemán said that the proposals to be presented tomorrow would consist of two parts: the technical design of the new locks and the costing. He said that cost estimates would be kept in a sealed envelope to ensure transparency until the designs had been fully evaluated.

As an additional measure, the ACP last month hired Deloitte as contracting auditor to scrutinise the technical side of the proposals, as well as to ensure the ACP’s evaluation committee stuck to rigorous analysis of the offers. “They [the consortiums] can feel confident that they are playing on an even field.”

On fears that the global financial crisis would cast a cloud over the expansion plans, Mr Alemán pointed to the $2.3bn received in funding in December from five multilateral agencies, with the Japan Bank for International Co-operation putting up $800m of that.

The rest, he said, would come from the canal’s operating income, which he expected to remain fairly stable in spite of some recent reduction in volumes.

“We are seeing a dip in the curve but this is a long-term project,” Mr Alemán said. “This project continues, it has financing in place and it will be opened in 2014.”