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Adolfo "Chichi" De Obarrio (Former Private Secretary for Martinelli) Facing Corruption Charges


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Corruption charges mount for Martinelli fugitive sidekick

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Obarrio with his lawyer before he fled

WHILE EX-PRESIDENT  Ricardo Martinelli  sits behind bars in a Miami detention center during extradition proceedings, his former private secretary remains on the run with multiple corruption cases against him accumulating  in Panama.

The Anti-Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio with unjustified enrichment. An audit carried out by The Office of the Comptroller General showed that he could not justify a patrimony of $3 million on his $5,000 monthly salary. The audit and investigation involves six other suspects whose names have not yet been revealed  While working for Martinelli he  was seen as the messenger boy carrying instructions to successive  directors of the former National Assistance  Program (PAN)

Martinelli attended his secretary’s  an extravagant wedding, reported to have cost  over $500,000.

Prosecutors have seized two assets of the former high flying satrap.

One of them is an apartment in the Icon Tower building, in Panama’s San Francisco, district reports La Prensa,.

The audit also involves six other people, whose names were not revealed, but whose accounts in different  banks have been uncovered.

Chichi De Obarrio is also being investigated for alleged acts of corruption linked to the PAN, including  being called to trial for alleged irregularities in the contract for the $44.5 million purchase of dehydrated food from Lerkshore International by the PAN.

Meanwhile The Public Ministry is  investigating  him  for supposed anomalies in the purchase of grains, and for  contracts granted in a  Ministry of Housing program.

De Obarrio is the subject of an Interpol  red alert. He fled Panama with his wife on Christmas Day 2015, ten months after his former boss

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/corruption-charges-mount-martinelli-fugitive-sidekick

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Fugitive’s mother under investigation

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Chichi de Obarrio on the run

THE MOTHER of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio the fugitive former private secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli appeared for questioning at the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s  office on Tuesday, August 8.

Silvana Mancini de Obarrio, like her son, is charged with alleged unjustified enrichment

She was accompanied by her lawyer Eduardo Sequeira. The investigation by  Prosecutor Javier Miter started at  8:30 a.m., at the  Public Ministry on  Via Espana.

The file is derived from an audit carried out by the Comptroller General which showed that she could not justify a patrimony of $3 million. The prosecution has seized two real estate properties of Chichi De Obarrio.

The investigation involves five other people, whose names have not yet been provided.

Chichi De Obarrio is also being investigated for alleged acts of corruption linked to the extinct National Assistance Program PAN.

While working for Martinelli he was known as the messenger boy, delivering instructions from the “capo” to ruling directors at the PAN. He was famed for his $750,000 wedding while earning $5,000 a month. He fled Panama on Christmas Day 2015 and is the subject of an Interpol red alert.

Story developing

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/fugitives-mother-investation

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Mother of fugitive Martinelli secretary behind bars

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Silvana Manzini De Obarrio,  the mother of the fugitive former  private secretary of ex-president  Ricardo Martinelli has been placed  in preventive detention while  under investigation for alleged unjustified enrichment.

Her son “Chichi” De Obarrio is wanted to face similar charges but fled Panama on Dec. 25, 2015.

The detention of Manzini was issued after questioning by anti-corruption prosecutor Javier Miter Burgos t that started at 8.30 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, August 8.

Four other  people are whose names have not been revealed are also being investigated

The file originates from an audit carried out by the Comptroller General that determined that Chichi De Obarrio could not justify a patrimony of $3 million

The prosecution has seized two real estate properties of Chichi De Obarrio, located in San Francisco.

Chichi De Obarrio is also  under investigation for alleged crimes linked to the former National Assistance  Program (PAN).

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mother-fugitive-martinelli-secretary-behind-bars

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More properties of Martinelli’s secretary seized

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Chichi de Obarrio on the run

TWO HOUSES belonging to the fugitive former private secretary  of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli,  and his mother have been seized, by prosecutors.

Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio,  has been on the run since Christmas Day 2015 and his mother Silvana Manzini of De Obarrio is in preventive detention.

The seizure was made within the investigation of alleged unjustified enrichment after an audit by the  Comptroller’s Office determined that Chichi De Obarrio could not  justify a $3 million equity.

The properties were seized on August 10, in the area Of Punta Barco and in San Carlos, in the province of West Panama. The houses were passed to the custody of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)  while the investigation continues.

Two other real estate properties  were seized earlier  by  prosecutor, Javier Miter Burgos,

The prosecution has also frozen a bank account related to Silvana Manzini de Obarrio.

Also under investigation are  Yvette Barsallo Fábrega, wife of Chichi De Obarrio; Maria Alessandra Salerno, who is banned from leaving the country, and businessmen Gabriel and Mike Btesh, former members of the Marinelli inner circle.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/properties-martinellis-secretary-seized

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Mother of fugitive Martinelli secretary in women’s jail

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THE MOTHER of the fugitive  former private secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli has been transferred  from  Judicial Branch (DIJ) holding cells in Ancon  to  a women’s prison housing drug traffickers and other convicted   criminals.

Silvana Manzini de De Obarrio, is the mother of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, who fled Panama with his wife  on Christmas Day,2015. He faces an Interpol Red Alert for his arrest.

She is now in  the female rehabilitation center Cecilia Orillac de Chiari, on Via Domingo Diaz.

The transfer took place at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 17  and was confirmed by her awyer Eduardo Sequeira and the Directorate of the Penitentiary System.

Sequeira said that he will use all legal remedies to  change the measure of pre-trial detention of his client, reports La Prensa.

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Fugitives Chichi and wife

Manzini de De Obarrio, her son and Yvette Barsallo Fábrega – wife of Chichi De Obarrio – are being investigated for alleged unjustified enrichment.

The prosecution also charged María Alessandra Salerno – daughter of Cristóbal Tobín Salerno – and the Brothers Gabriel and Mike Btesh who also have fled Panama.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mother-fugitive-martinelli-secretary-womens-jail

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Appeal against bail for fugitive’s mother

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Silvana Manzini

PANAMA  Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office will file an appeal against the decision of Fifteenth Criminal Court judge  Óscar Carrasquilla, to grant bail  to the mother of fugitive Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, former private secretary of ex- President Ricardo Martinelli.

Silvana Manzini de De Obarrio has been  in preventive detention since August 8, while being investigated for alleged unjustified  of enrichment.

Also charged are Chichi De Obarrio and his wife Ivette Barsallo Fábrega – both of whom have fled the counrty – and the brothers Gabriel and Mike Btesh.Judge Carrasquilla granted $100,000bail  “as there  is no obvious danger of leakage or destruction of evidence and, De Obarrio Manzini is 61 years old and must attend to her spouse who is disabled.”

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/appeal-bail-fugitives-mother

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Case against Martinelli side kick near close

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THE Anti-corruption Discharge Prosecution is near the end of the investigations of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, the former private secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, and five others for alleged unjustified enrichment.

Judicial sources told La Prensa that the prosecutor Javier Miter Burgos is preparing the file for the hearing of the case, and will then send it to the Twelfth Criminal Court.

Last September, Judge Óscar Carrasquilla ordered the Public Prosecutor’s Office to file, after admitting an incident of controversy presented by De Obarrio’s defense, with the argument that the prosecutor of the case would have exceeded the deadline to complete the case file.

In an audit, the Comptroller General of the Republic determined that Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio could not justify a $ 3 million equity.

De Obarrio and his wife fled the country On Christmas Day, 2015.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/case-martinelli-side-kick-near-close

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Fugitive’s mother gets $500,000 bail

SILVANA MANZINI De Obarrio, the mother of the fugitive former personal secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, walked out of the women’s prison on Monday, October 30 after paying a $500,000 bail bond.She had been detained since August 17.

On November 1 her lawyer, Eduardo Sequeira confirmed her release and said she is now staying at his residence and is prohibited from leaving the country.

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De Obarrio wedding, his mentor Martinelli on the right

Her son, Adolfo De Obarrio, his mother and his wife, Ivette Barsallo Fábrega, are all under investigation by the Anticorruption Prosecutor for alleged unjustified enrichment. The son, who was receiving $5,000 a month before tax, managed to afford an extravagant wedding, reported to have cost over half a million dollars, and make substantial real estate investments.

The messenger
He would be privy to many of the secrets of his former boss, as he frequently acted as a messenger with instructions for the former directors of the National Assistance Program (PAN), center of numerous embezzlement scandals.

The whereabouts of De Obarrio and his wife are still unknown. They fled on Christmas Day, 2014.

The Office of the Prosecutor has also charged María Alessandra Salerno -the daughter of Cristóbal Tobín-Salerno- and the Brothers Gabriel and Mike Btesh in the case.

Manzini de De Obarrio was first sent to preventive detention on August 7. in the Directorate of Judicial Investigation before being was transferred to the female rehabilitation center.

According to an audit by the Comptroller General of the Republic, Adolfo De Obarrio cannot It can justify assets of $3 million.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/fugitives-mother-gets-500000-bail

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Rights of Martinelli “messenger boy” not violated

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Chichi de Obarrio on the run
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THE  SECOND  Criminal Superior Court  has thrown out an appeal  by the former secretary of ex-president Martinelli against a lower court ruling that his fundamental rights had had not been violated.

Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio who has been dubbed “the messenger boy” for his role in personally delivering orders  from Martinelli in cases now dubbed Corruption is a fugitive who fled Panama with his wife on Christmas Day 2014 is facing charges of unjustified  enrichment

In a ruling of October 27, the court upheld the decision of the twelfth  criminal judge Óscar Carrasquilla, who denied in the first instance the request by the defense of the ex-secretary.  Gilberto Pérez, De Obarrio’s lawyer, alleged that his client had his fundamental  rights violated as, according to him, the process was initiated without summary evidence that would generate evidence of the commission of a crime. The court rejected this argument, stating that the Public Ministry provided evidence such as checks, deposit reports and the audit of the Comptroller General according to which De Obarrio did not submit his patrimonial declaration, as befits officials.

The audit specified that De Obarrio obtained revenues of $3 million that could not be justified.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/rights-martinelli-messenger-boy-not-violated

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Martinelli “messenger” rags to riches to fugitive

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Chichi de Obarrio on the run
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The personal secretary of ex-president Martinelli who carried verbal orders to corrupt administration officials increased his wealth from  $4.11 to a  $4.7 million, in five years before fleeing the country on Christmas Day. 2015.

Adolfo ‘Chichi’ De Obarrio got his job as the secretary with a salary of $5,000 a month, a big jump for a 28-year-old who was scratching out a living on $1,000. a month.

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FINALE to $182,000 wedding extravaganza

In the five years he served his master ($2019-2014) he grew to become a symbol of extravagant living, including a $182,000 wedding, attended by Martinelli, his wife and sons.

The secretary purchased gold ingots and coins for $759,000, acquired farms, luxury vehicles, several apartments and a beach house He also spent at least $8,000   at the Cartier Panama store and another $18,000 at Mercurio Jewelers and registered $500,000 in credit card payments.

He managed his new wealth with 15 bank accounts and could not justify $3.6 million, according to an audit of Panama’s Comptroller General which showed that his wedding with Yvette Barsallo Fábrega cost $182.000 of which $165,000 went to the Trump Ocean Club, where the event was held.

The audit showed that his patrimony increased $ 4.7 million, of which $ 1.1 million came from known sources and the remaining $3.6 million was not sustained. The audit covered July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2015.

The Chichi De Obarrio bonanza began after he began his duties as Martinelli’s private secretary and institutional director of the Ministry of the Presidency.

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Silvana Manzini de De Obarrio

The details of the audit are in the tax hearing prepared by the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office which aims to prosecute him for the alleged commission of the crime of unjustified enrichment. In addition, the prosecution called for his wife and his mother,   to be tried.

The prosecution also called for the appearance of businessmen Mike and Gabriel Btesh, (both have disappeared) and María Alessandra Salerno, daughter of businessman Cristóbal Salerno.

The audit highlights that De Obarrio obtained $ 1.1 million from known sources. For example, $295,000 for salaries, representation expenses and the thirteenth-month payment; while $259,000 was added from wedding gifts.

He also obtained a loan of $150,000 for the purchase of an apartment in  Icon Tower in San Francisco and earned   $14,570 in interest from bank accounts.

Between December 2009 and July 2010, De Obarrio made purchases of precious metals -gold coins and bullion- for $759,000 according to a report contributed by Credicorp Bank for the audit.

The bank report states that seven of the purchases made by De Obarrio in gold and coins totaled $453,000. Appearing as “clients” are Martinelli Berrocal and four other legal entities.

of the total gold purchases, 51% was paid by cash. On the same day, on July 28, 2010, he made purchases for $117,00 In addition, and bought a farm from Bianco Loft 4, S.A., for $900,000.

He also bought a $400,000 beach house at Vista Mar Golf & Beach Resort.

In the expense line, the audit shows a Land Rover vehicle valued at $30,000 and an unidentified property in Panama, by transfer to Dubai (Arab Emirates) for $210,000.

There is a record of $700,000  in deposits abroad, due to local account closures A balance of $ 100,000  remains in banks.

Neither De Obarrio nor his wife have given explanations to the prosecution because they fled the country.

His mother, Silvana Manzini de De Obarrio, originally in preventive detention, was left to face the music alone

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/martinelli-messenger-rags-to-riches-to-fugitive

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Embezzlment hearing for fugitive Martinelli “messenger boy”

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Chichi De Obarrio
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A preliminary hearing for Adolfo “Chichi” De Obarrio, former private secretary of ex-President Ricardo Martinelli, and Abraham Wiliams, accused of embezzlement has been called for July 25.

The likelihood of  De Obarrio  and Williams  showing up in the 12th Criminal court is remote as they are both fugitives,

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Guest of honor (right) at “Messenger boy” wedding

De Obarrio gained notoriety for his $750,000 wedding while earning a $5,000 a month salary, and at age 28 was known as Martinelli’s messenger boy, delivering orders to the directors of the National Assistance program,(PAN) where Williams was an assistant.

Willims and his wife fled the country on Christmas Day, 2015, as investigators closed in.

The two men are wanted, for embezzlement and corruption of public servants, in the case known as “backpacks”

Judge, Leslie Loaiza, who opened criminal proceedings against De Obarrio and Williams for embezzlement, corruption of public servants and fraud in public procurement acts that damaged the now-defunct National Assistance Program (PAN) ordered the arrest and capture of both by the National Police, the National Aeronaval Service, the National Border Service and the Directorate of Judicial Investigation and requested a report from the National Immigration Service.

Red Alert
The judge ordered an Interpol red alert for  De Obarrio In the same order he dismissed another 15 accused persons in the case of buying backpacks through the PAN.

Among the dismissed are the former Minister of Education Lucy Molinar; Mario Martinelli Berrocal (brother of the ex-president); Giacomo Tamburrelli, former director of the PAN (2009-2012), and the businesswoman Poullette Morales.

The judge also ordered the lifting of the personal and real precautionary measures imposed on these people, as well as the return of assets, bank accounts, movable property and real estate generally apprehended in this case.

The judge based his decision on the investigative statement and the collaboration agreement of Rafael Guardia Jaén, who was director of the PAN (2012-2014), Williams was his assistant

Guardia a indicated that he received instructions from Adolfo De Obarrio, who “chose which companies should be hired, that is, that both participated in the crime,” according to a statement from the Justice Department

In a hearing held on May 23, Guardia agreed to the collaboration agreement and was held criminally responsible for the crimes of embezzlement, corruption of public servants and fraud in public procurement.

The investigation for possible $12 million cost overruns in the purchase of school bags, through the PAN, was initiated on September 5, 2014, by the Second Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP).

Guardia was in preventive custody between 2014 and July 2017 for various cases of corruption related to his management at the of PAN.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/embezzlment-hearing-for-fugitive-martinelli-messenger-boy

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Court rejects appeal by fugitive Martinelli aide

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Adolfo Chichi de Obarrio
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Panama’s  Supreme Court has  rejected an Amparo of constitutional guarantees presented by the defense of  the former secretary of  ex-president Ricardo  Martinelli  Adolfo De Obarrio, and his mother, Silvana Manzini De Obarrio, to declare the nullity of the process in which both are named for  alleged money laundering carried out by the Seventh Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, derived from the investigation of unjustified enrichment.

The defense alleged in the appeal that the constitutional guarantees of both clients were violated after they were opened for a second criminal proceeding – for money laundering – related to a fact that is already under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in the case of unjustified enrichment.

According to the Amparo, the Seventh Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office ordered the opening of a new summary based on the same facts investigated by the Anticorruption Public Prosecutor’s Office, and therefore argues that there is a double trial.

The Court, under the presentation of Judge Asunción Alonso, rejected the arguments and argued that in this case the Public Ministry acted in accordance with the law and did not incur the violation of fundamental guarantees.

On August 8, 2018, due to the filing of several legal remedies, the 12th Criminal Court suspended the preliminary hearing of Adolfo De Obarrio, his mother Silvana Manzini of De Obarrio, his wife Ivette Barsallo Fábrega, María Alessandra Salerno, Gabriel and Mike Btesh for the alleged unjustified enrichment.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/court-rejects-appeal-by-fugitive-martinelli-aide

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Investigation of  Martinelli era  scam continues

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Fugitive Adolfo De Obarrio, former Martinelli sidekick

Posted 05/10/2019

The Second Superior Court has  revoked, at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, two incidents of nullity that had invalidated the inquiries of 31 suspects  in the multi-million dollars  grains  scam  of the National Assistance Program (PAN)

 With the  ruling of the Second Court, the decision of the Fifteenth Criminal Court that annulled the inquiries into the former Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima and  fugitive, Adolfo De Obarrio former private secretary of former president Ricardo Martinelli and 29 other people followed by a process for the alleged illegal acquisition of grain through the National Aid Program(PAN).

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/investigation-of-martinelli-era-scam-continues

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State hangs on to $510,000 home of fugitive Martinelli sidekick

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De Obarrio and his wife before they fled the country

Posted 10/12/2019

A $510,000 apartment  owned by Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, former private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli valued at remains in possession of authorities after The Second Superior Court of Justice confirmed a decision of the Twelfth Criminal Court.

Fugitive De Obarrio is investigated for alleged unjustified enrichment.

The ruling, dated November 6, indicates that in this case the request to lift the precautionary measure cannot be accepted, since the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Discharge, has provided evidence that the apartment was acquired during the period De Obarrio  was an official and that an audit report by the Comptroller General of the Republic revealed an unjustified enrichment of the former official for an amount of $3.7 million.

The prosecution has evidence that the first payment to acquire the property was made with funds that came from a checking account in the name of Adolfo De Obarrio.

The anti-corruption prosecutor Javier Miter Burgos explained that Apartment  No. 4 of PH Bianco Loft in El Golf , which remains guarded, was originally acquired by Salvatori Spinelli, who sold it to a couple through the real estate company James Realty , who transferred the property to a corporation controlled by relatives of De Obarrrio.

According to the prosecution, the measure of apprehension of the real estate is justified, since it gathers elements of conviction based on the audit report of the Comptroller in which the unjustified capital increase of De Obarrio was determined.

On August 8, the court suspended for the second time the preliminary hearing of De Obarrio and the brothers Gabriel and Mike Btesh.

The hearing was suspended after the presentation of an Amparo of constitutional guarantees before the Supreme Court of Justice for the defense of Mike Btesh.

The mother and wife of Chichi De Obarrio -Silvana Manzini de De Obarrio and Ivette Barcello Fábrega, respectively- are also charged. and María Alessandra Salerno.

Gabriel Btesh has not appeared in this process and maintains a red Interpol alert for his location, capture, and transfer to Panama.

De Obarrio also appears in the case for the purchase of backpacks through the National Assistance Program (PAN), which is based in the Fifteenth Criminal Court, by Leslie Loaiza.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/state-hangs-on-to-510000-home-of-fugitive-martinelli-sidekick

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Judge rules out bail for Martinelli’s fugitive former secretary

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Posted 13/02/2020

Bail is not on the cards for the fugitive former private secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli said Panama judge on Thursday, February  13.

Fifteenth Court Judge Leslie Loaiza did not admit a request for bail in favor of  Adolfo Chichi de Obarrio allegedly linked to crimes against public administration and widely seen as the  “messenger boy” between Martinelli and former PAN directors.

Loaiza stressed in his ruling that it is not mandatory to grant the benefit of bail since when deciding whether to admit or not to assess the legal-criminal situation of the accused and in this case, he is a fugitive from justice.

He added that de Obarrio has not appeared either in the Public Ministry or the court to face the legal process.

Loaiza also recalled that de Obarrio maintains other proceedings in the court, which he has not yet faced.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/judge-rules-out-bail-for-martinellis-fugitive-former-secretary

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Reports of fugitive's Interpol arrest denied

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Chichi de Obarrio

Posted 28/03/2021

News reports  that Adolfo 'Chichi' de Obarrio, former private secretary of ex-President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), had been detained in Italy by that country's Interpol, have been rejected by his lawyer Victor Collado.

Collado sharply denied, on Sunday afternoon, that Obarrio is being held or that he has surrendered in Italy or in any country reports Mi Diario.

“They put us in a position to report that Interpol in Italy is holding Panamanian Adolfo (Chichi) de Obarrio. It is not clear yet if he was captured or if he turned himself in. We are seeking information with our correspondent in Rome to confirm, ” Edwin Cabrera, director of the Information Services of Radio Panama said earlier

However, hours later the information was denied by Collado, who assured RPC Radio that "Adolfo de Obarrio is not detained in any country."

Radio Panama insisted with Interpol sources in Italy, but they explained that it is the Panamanian authorities who must make official the reports on the alleged retention of the former Panamanian official.

De Obarrio's lawyer has stated that his client would face justice when there is the certainty of due process.

De Obarri has been being sought by the authorities for being allegedly linked to the crime against the public administration to the detriment of the defunct National Aid Program (PAN), in the forms of embezzlement, corruption of public servants, and alleged fraud. As a 28-year-old secretary to the president, he was known as the messenger boy at the PAN but a messenger with extravagant tastes who on a salary of $5,000 a month had a wedding reported to have cost over half a million dollars

The former official is considered a "fugitive from justice," according to a ruling by Leslie Loaiza, Panama's fifteenth judge, who called him to trial and denied a bail request in 2020. De Obarrio fled Panama with his wife on Christmas Day 1919  and was decreed in absentia since he has not yet appeared either in the Public Ministry or the court to face his legal process. An Interpol red alert was issued and he has been on the run ever since.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/reports-of-fugitives-interpol-arrest-denied

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Martinelli’s  fugitive ex-secretary arrested in Milan

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Chichi de Obarrio was wearing a beard when arrested according to Milan media reports.

Posted 08/04/2021

Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, who served as  Ricardo  Martinelli's private secretary when he was president of Panama (2009-2014), was arrested in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday, April 7 in response to a request from Interpol.

Marco Turchetto, a spokesman for the Milan Police, indicated that the 39-year-old was captured on the street by agents of a mobile squad, following instructions from the Interpol Division of the International Police Cooperation Service.

He spent the night a local prison and, according to Italian media reports, has grown a beard and was carrying dual passports, Italian and Panamanian.

“The person sought [by Panama], who served as private secretary to the President of the Republic in the period between 2009 and 2014, would have received the payment of bribes by businessmen in exchange for the award of public contracts related to national aid programs for the purchase of school supplies, a crime for which a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison is foreseen in Panamanian law, ”says Turchetto's communication.

In  July 2018, De Obarrio was called to trial for irregularities in the purchase of school backpacks, with funds from the PAN ( National Aid Program ). He is accused of alleged embezzlement, corruption of officials, and fraud in public contracts. A criminal case was also opened against Abraham Williams, a former PAN official.

Since then, criminal judge Leslie Loaiza ordered the immediate arrest of De Obarrio and Williams (then also a fugitive), and the issuance of red alerts through Interpol, in order to ensure the capture of both.

In this case, there is a collaboration agreement - validated by Judge Laoiza - of the former director of the PAN, Rafael Guardia , who pointed out that De Obarrio "was the person who gave instructions to Guardia and who chose which companies should be hired", while Williams, who was assistant to the PAN leadership, "followed up on the documents for the execution of the programs."

The investigation of cost overruns in the acquisition of school backpacks, for approximately $12 million began on September 5, 2014, by the now defunct Second Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

De Obarrio is mentioned in other cases about purchases with PAN money.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinellis-fugitive-ex-secretary-arrested-in-milan

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'No escape danger' for man on the run for six years

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Posted 10/04/2021

Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio's lawyer,   Gabriele Minitti, says there is no danger of escape by his client who has been on the run since Christmas Day 2014  when he fled Panama with his wife.

Minitti has filed an appeal with the Italian courts to revoke the preventive detention applied to his client after he was arrested on Wednesday in Milan by agents of the Italian State Police.

The former private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli and one of his closest collaborators, Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, has been held in a cell in the maximum-security prison of San Vittore, in Milan, since he was arrested.

It is one of the largest prisons in Italy, where great mafia bosses have served time, such as Francesco Bonura, right hand of the Cosa Nostra boss, or Francesco Catalado, sentenced to life imprisonment for having dissolved his 13-year-old son in acid.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/no-escape-danger-for-man-on-the-run-for-six-years

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Fugitive Chichi walks free

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Posted 15/04/2021

The Milan Court has ordered the release of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio , detained eight days ago at the request of the Panamanian authorities, who require him for extradition.

The information was confirmed by Gabriele Minitti , De Obarrio's lawyer, who also indicated that his client had already been released from prison and, at the moment, is without precautionary measures. His passport was not even taken away or a bond was imposed reports La Prensa.

“He is a free Italian citizen. Italy is not going to extradite him ”, the lawyer stressed.

Minitti maintains that the Milan Court has not recognized the validity of the bilateral extradition treaty between Panama and Italy, signed in 2013, since the Panamanian National Assembly never ratified it. The Italian Senate, on the other hand, did ratify it in 2016 and it has been the law of the Republic since 2018. Last week, the Italian Ministry of Justice and the Italian embassy in Panama had even said that this would be the document that would be applied. in the process of delivering De Obarrio to Panama says La Prensa.

The former private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli and one of his closest collaborators had been arrested on April 7 and sent to the maximum security prison of San Vittore, in Milan, since he was arrested last Wednesday.

After his capture, the lawyer Minitti filed an appeal with the judicial authorities to immediately revoke the preventive detention applied to his client, claiming that there is no danger of escape.

The former official left Panama six years ago. His whereabouts were unknown until now, despite the fact that he was under a search and arrest warrant requested by Panama from Interpol.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/fugitive-chichi-walks-free

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Italians mystified at inaction of Panama Assembly

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Posted 16/04/2021

The Italian Ministry of Justice is perplexed at the inaction of Panama’s National Assembly, which has not ratified the bilateral extradition treaty that would have facilitated the surrender of Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio , former private secretary of Ricardo Martinelli . De Obarrio was arrested on April 7 in Milan , due to a request for his arrest for extradition by Panama, but last Wednesday, a court ordered his release, since the bilateral treaty Signed by both countries in 2013 was never ratified by the National Assembly. the Italian Senate did ratify it in 2016 and it has been a law of the Republic since November 22, 2018. A spokesman for the Italian Ministry of Justice said , "Panama, for reasons unknown to us, has not proceeded to ratify the extradition agreement, which, therefore, should not be considered in force." The Italian ministry alleges that, without this ratification, there is no legal framework that supports the extradition. Since Dcember 2014 and until his capture, the whereabouts of De Obarrio were unknown, who is required by various processes on irregularities in purchases of the National Aid Program (PAN) . He was also prosecuted for unjustified enrichment. Published reports reveal that when he was appointed to the $5,000 a month job he had less than $20 in his bank account. Five years later he was a millionaire who spent $700,000 on his wedding. Now he is free, without bail; The court also did not require De Obarrio, who is also an Italian citizen, to surrender his passport.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/italians-mystified-at-inaction-of-panama-assembly-1

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Moves underway for extradition of Martinelli’s former-secretary

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Chichi de Obarrio and his wife fled Panama.

Posted 04/05/2021

Fugitive Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, former personal secretary of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli is not yet off the hook as Judge  Lorena Martínez Hernández, head of the Second Liquidator Court, begins the process of notifying interested parties of the request for extradition made by the Public Ministry for alleged embezzlement and fraud in purchasing and distributing backpacks – for  $12 million–, through the defunct National Aid Program (PAN).

As part of the process, on July 10, 2018, the then fifteenth criminal judge, Leslie Loaiza opened a criminal case against De Obarrio and Abraham Williams, who served as assistant to Rafael Guardia Jaén, former head of the PAN.

At that time, both were fugitives and, Loaiza ordered the security forces to arrest them. In the case of De Obarrio, he asked Interpol to issue a red alert for his capture.

Loaiza also validated a collaboration agreement signed by the prosecution with Guardia Jaén, who pointed to De Obarrio as "the person who gave him instructions and who chose which companies should be hired," while Williams "followed up on the documents for the program executions ”.

Once the parties are notified and any objection of them, if any, is resolved, Judge Lorena Martínez Hernández must send the request to the Chancellery so that, , it can carry out the procedure before the Italian authorities.De Obarrio, who is also accused of the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering in the Blue Apple case, is in Italy. He was arrested in that country on April 7 at the request of Panama, but a week later he was released because the extradition treaty between the two countries was not ratified by the National Assembly.

The legal framework on which the delivery of De Obarrio to Panama should be structured is precisely that treaty, signed by authorities of the two countries in 2013, but for it to come into force it had to be ratified by the Legislature.

The Italian Parliament ratified it in 2016. Instead, the Foreign Relations Commission of the Panama Assembly refused to do so. In 2017, that commission endorsed a Judicial Assistance agreement between the two nations, but not the extradition one.

 La  Prensa asked the Foreign Ministry if it will negotiate with the National Assembly for the ratification of the extradition treaty with Italy, but there was no response.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/moves-underway-for-extradition-of-martinellis-former-secretary

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