Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 8, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 8, 2018 Quote Canal board member cited over illegal contract Posted on February 6, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 214 ANOTHER member of the Board of directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), has been brought under the spotlight for alleged illegal practices. The National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information (Antai) is investigating Lourdes Castillo, for her links to the company Pele System, Inc., a company that during the Martinelli administration obtained a contract with the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to inspect merchant navy ships. The information became public on Tuesday, February 6 in a note sent by Angelica Maytin, director of Antai, to, Roberto Roy, president of the ACP board. Maytin reminded Roy that Law 19 of 1997, which governs the ACP and prohibits members of its board of directors to conclude contracts with the ACP “or with institutions linked to it, such as is the case of the AMP. ” She requests “a report on the result of the actions that are taken with dispatch” http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/canal-board-member-cited-illegal-contract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 10, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted February 10, 2018 Quote Foot Dragging Over Fugitive Canal Directors Posted on February 9, 2018 in Panama Corcione and MIzrachi Post Views: 170 Two months after promising to evaluate the situation President Juan Carlos Varela has taken no action over the future of two directors of the Panama Canal (ACP) who are under criminal investigation Nicolás Corcione and Henri Mizrachi in addition to not fulfilling their functions as members of the board of directors, as they have not attended meetings are being investigated by the Prosecutors against Organized Crime for possible money laundering, in the “New Business” case in the purchase of the Panama America publishing group, reports La Prensa. Varela promised to obtain a report to know what actions can be taken. An ACP Law, says that it is the responsibility of the President with the agreement of the Cabinet Council and the National Assembly, to suspend or remove from office those involved in a fraudulent crime or against the public administration. Corcione and Mizrachi, appointed by ex-president Ricardo Martinelli have not attended meetings for at least eight months. The Organized Crime prosecutor’s office has asked Interpol for their arrest, as part of the investigation into of money laundering in the New Business case related to the alleged use of public funds to buy The Panama America publishing group. According to ACP reports, the last time Mizrachi attended board meetings was on June 19, 2017, while Corcione appeared on August 10 of that same year. On December 5, President Varela said that the future of Corcione and Mizrachi would be evaluated. In order to “protect the image and legal structures of the ACP, He said he would request a report from the Presidency legal team. The National Transparency Authority (Antai) has requested a report of the attendance of Corcione and Mizrachi, It was sent by Antai director Angelica Maytin, to ACP president Roberto Roy, and asked for their attendance records since 2015. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/foot-dragging-fugitive-canal-directors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 10, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted February 10, 2018 Quote Varela stalls action on Canal crime suspects Posted on February 9, 2018 in Panama Varela: No time to address ACP directors issue. Post Views: 159 President Juan Carlos Varela has still not found time to review the future of two board members of the Panama Canal under criminal investigation but plans to squeeze in a meeting with Pope Francis in New York. Nicolás Corcione and Henri Mizrachi are under investigation for alleged money laundering. Arriving at a conference on water issues in Panama he dodged questions from media: “I can only speak about water” he said and promised a statement “when I get back from travel.” Varela is traveling to the United States for the UN General Assembly. He said he will take the opportunity to see Pope Francis, who is also visiting the US. The 2019 World Youth Day in Panama a likely discussion point and is high on Varela’s agenda. Varela is a member of Opus Dei. Meanwhile, he wants to talk with other ACP directors “I want a debate because we have to take the decision together” said Varela. A 1997 law gives the president the authority to fire directors engaged in criminal activity or who do not show up for board meetings for an extended period, http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/varela-stalls-action-canal-crime-suspects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 8, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted March 8, 2018 Quote Arrest warrants outstanding for no-show Canal directors Posted on March 7, 2018 in Panama Corcione, Mizrachi, and Castillo Post Views: 152 Nicolás Corcione and Henri Mizrachi, directors of The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), both with outstanding arrest warrants issued by Organized Crime prosecutors have not attended board meetings advisory boards or committees For almost seven and nine months, respectively, says a note sent to the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information (Antai), on March 2. Their whereabouts are unknown, and the arrest warrants were at the request of The First Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime, are part of the investigation of the so-calledNew Business case, about the alleged use of public funds to acquire the shares of Editora Panamá America, S.A. (Epasa), in the last government. The Antai, director Angélica Maytín, had requested information from Roberto Roy, president of the ACP board .about the absences of Corcione and Mizrachi. He responded that the last participation of Corcione was on August 10, 2017, in a meeting of the modernization and extension committee. Mizrachi, meanwhile, was last seen on June 19, at a meeting of the finance committee. Corcione has been a member of the board since March 2010 and Mizrachi, since February of 2013. Roy also responded to Maytin about Lourdes Castillo, also a member of the board of directors whom the Antai investigates administratively for its links with Pele System, Inc., a company that in the last government obtained a contract for $22.1 million with the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to inspect merchant marine vessels. Roy alleged that the Constitution and the law attribute to the board of directors of the ACP to know the possible conflicts of interest that arise between the entity and its members, “as presumably occurs in the present case, interpreted in a sense administrative and not criminal “. Roy said that the internal regulations of the general auditor of The ACP confers on it the power to carry out investigations and investigations requested by the board, the administrator or the sub-administrator, “as well as report their results to the board of directors, recommending the corresponding corrective actions“. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/arrest-warrants-outstanding-for-no-show-canal-directors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2018 Quote Canal board member faces money laundering probe Posted on April 2, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 122 Accompanied by his lawyer Henri Mizrachi, a member of the board of directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), responded to a subpoena on Monday April 2 and arrived at the First Specialized Office against Organized Crime, to explain his participation in the in the New Business Case involving the purchase of Editora Panamá América, S.A. (Epasa), believed to be under the control of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli. Prosecutors are investigating the possible commission of the crime of money laundering. According to the investigations, the purchase of Epasa was made with public funds, during the government of Martinelli (2009-2014). http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/canal-board-member-faces-money-laundering-probe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2018 Quote President slow to act on fugitive Canal board member Posted on April 2, 2018 in Panama Nicolas-Corcione-... red alert Post Views: 148 PANAMA President Juan Carlos Varela appears to be avoiding the issue of a fugitive member of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal facing an outstanding Interpol Red Alert. Nicolás Corcione, a construction entrepreneur has been summoned numerous times to appear for interrogation in several criminal cases, but while initially protected by his status as a board member, his no-shows at meetings mean that he can be dismissed and his immunity lifted. In December Varela, said that “the Panama Canal is a very important asset of the State [so] we must protect its image and legal structures.” Corcionne still has to provide explanations about the contract for the construction of the new headquarters of the National Assembly (AN) and money from this project that was deposited in bank accounts, whose funds were used to buy the Editora Panamá América (Epasa). The money was part of an advance of funds for the work, agreed in the contract between the AN and Grupo Corcione and Associates, S.A. However, not everything was used for this purpose, reports La Prensa. At least a million dollars ended up in a bank account of the foreign company N ew Business. Ltd., where other State contractors contributed millions of dollars for the purchase of the publisher of the newspapers Panamá América and Crítica, and whose ownership is attributed to ex-president Ricardo Martinelli. In past statements, Corcionne maintained that this was a legitimate purchase of shares of the newspaper company, but the investigations point to other purposes, according to the reasoning of the Public Ministry, reports La Prensa. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/president-slow-to-act-on-fugitive-canal-board-member Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 4, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2018 Quote Varela moves to fire errant Canal directors Posted on April 3, 2018 in Panama Corcione and Mizrachi face money laundering probe Post Views: 201 A CALL from the director of Panama’s Transparency and Access to Information body (Antai) for the removal of two delinquent directors from the board of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)l has spurred President Juan Carlos Varela to finally take action. He announced on Tuesday, April 3 that the Cabinet Council that he would analyze the “steps to follow” for the removal of Henri Mizrachi and Nicolás Corcione. “We can not have two directorships of the Canal in suspension “, said Varela, adding that the Deputy Minister of the Presidency, Salvador Sánchez, will submit a report of the legal procedures to be followed to remove the two directors of the Canal. Varela’s long postponed announcement comes after Angelica Maytin the director of Antai asked him to remove Mizrachi and Corcione from the ACP for violating duties and functions within the entity. Maytin supported her request with the fact that Corcione and Mizrachi have missed the meetings of the ACP directive on 73 and 52 occasions, respectively. Both are under investigation by the First Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime in the New Business case, related to money laundering transactions to buy the Editora Panamá group America, S.A. (Epasa), presumably with public funds. Corcione has fled the country and is the target of an Interpol Red Alert. The letter sent by Maytin points out that the product of their “evident administrative incapacity” and based on Article 20 of Law No. 19 of 1997, organized by the ACP, both directors must be removed. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/varela-moves-to-fire-errant-canal-directors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Doug Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 This is absurd. Corcione has fled the country and is the target of an Interpol Red Alert, and Varela is just now going to analyze steps to follow for removal? I think Varela is more interested in world travel than running a government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 5, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted April 5, 2018 Quote OPINION:Time to throw the bums out Posted on April 4, 2018 in Opinion, Panama Corcione and Mizrachi Post Views: 156 For at least, two years we have been waiting for a strong pronouncement from the President of the Republic on the permanence in the board of directors of the Canal Authority of Panama by Nicolás Corcione and Henri Mizrachi, appointed by the former president Ricardo Martinelli. Both managers not only face criminal cases for the alleged commission of such serious crimes, as money laundering but have also not fulfilled their functions when absent from the meetings of the board of directors and its decisions multiple times. The Canal is the most important state-owned company in our economy and, therefore its directors have the obligation to guarantee, in addition to their participation in its decisions, the highest moral solvency in their actions. The decision of the Council of Cabinet to endorse the recommendation of the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information (Antai) for Corcione and Mizrachi to be removed from the Canal directive is correct and deserves citizen support. It is now the responsibility of the National Assembly to demonstrate with deeds and not with empty speeches its position in the fight against corruption and in favor of transparency… LA PRENSA, Mar 4 http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/opinion-a-president-slow-to-act Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted May 13, 2018 Author Moderators Share Posted May 13, 2018 Quote Investigation of ACP Board member declared legal Posted on May 12, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 125 The Second Superior Court of Justice has confirmed the decision of the Eighteenth Criminal Court that it is legal for the Prosecutor against organized crime to investigate Nicolás Corcione a member of the Board of the Panama Canal (ACP). in the case called New Business, related to transactions for the purchase of the Editorial Epasa group, allegedly y with public funds. According to the court ruling, issued on April 13, Banesco’s records indicate that the Grupo Clio, S.A., debited $1 million in favor of New Business Services Ltd. and that The transaction was authorized by Nicolás and José Corcione. The defense had alleged that the payment made by the Clio Group, S.A., to the company New Business Services Ltd. was a legal operation, motivated by the desire of Corcione, a businessman of “recognized trajectory “, of investing in the purchase of shares of a means of communication. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/investigation-of-acp-board-member-declared-legal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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