New attempt to link Martinelli to the SAP case

The new attack of the Government against former officials and suppliers of the previous Administration has the same origin as before: the National Security Council.

Now, amid the scandal that harms the country, due to the actions of the law firm of former Minister Counsellor of the President of the Republic, will revive a process, whereby the sixth anti- corruption Prosecutor, Aurelio Vásquez, has already ordered preventive detention against two former officials and even asked for Interpol assistance to capture a businessman.

One of the apprehended former officials last week, Carlos Tasón, who was director of Innovation of the Social Security Fund (CSS), during management of Guillermo Sáez Llorens, received strong pressure from the Security Council, led by Rolando López, alias "Picuiro", to involve former President Ricardo Martinelli in the file on the case SAP.

According to one informed source, the pressure against Tason was so strong that his lawyer resigned to continue defending him.

"Naive is what President Varela is, if he ever thinks that increasing political persecution will make “Panama papers” stop staining his Government",  wrote in his Twitter account, the former President´s spokesman, Luis Eduardo Camacho.

This way of manipulating investigations against officials from the previous Government, by means of which records are put together in the Security Council, has already been denounced on several occasions.

Case PAN

One of the first people to denounce coercion by prosecutors was the lawyer of the former Director of Programme of National Assistance (PAN), Giacomo Tamburrelli, Gonzalo Moncada Luna, who reported that the then second anticorruption Prosecutor, Lizzete Chevalier threatened and tried to influence him, reproaching him that he had not involved more people who she considered were connected, such as a former President of the Republic, in reference to Martinelli.

Cobranzas del Istmo

Then, in May 2015, after linking Martinelli in the case of Cobranzas del Istmo, the Manager of that company, Cristóbal Salerno, was benefited with a house arrest preventive measure.

Salerno did not provide evidence of the allegations made against the former President.

They questioned the legality of the contract with Cobranzas, however, the Varela´s Government made four payments to the company for $ 7 million.

Financial Pacific

In September, the former Director of the Stock Superintendency (SMV), Ignacio Fábrega, denounced in an audio, pressures within the investigations into the alleged fraud to Financial Pacific, which involved more people.

He said that he was questioned by the liquidator of Financial Pacific, with the name of Hidrobo, and that these questions were addressed so that he linked former Minister of Tourism, Salomón Shamah, and the former superintendent of the stock market, Juan Manuel Martans.

Telephone wiretapping

In December it was circulated in social networks a video in which Jaime Agrazal, former member of the Security Council, complained that he was coerced by the Government so he declared against Martinelli and thus link him in the case of "telephone wiretapping".

He added having received offers of officials, "money and support to my house, because according to them, they had the power to do so, provided that he served as a witness in this case and linked former President Ricardo Martinelli, Gustavo Pérez, Alejandro Garuz and Rony Araúz".