Tocumen S.A.´s general manager, Joseph Fidanque, not only would have used his position to benefit companies of their personal friends with direct contracts, but would have also favored family businesses in which he is directly involved as a director, according to official information.
Panama America revealed that since Fidanque took office of Tocumen S.A. both public procurement and direct purchases became a norm that privileged a select group of companies.
Just upon taking on the charge within Juan Carlos Varela´s administration, Fidanque was responsible for cornering and putting pressure on companies that used to have existing contracts to then giving them directly to other companies of close friends to the present Government politicians, friends, partners and family businesses.
Worse yet, Fidanque was not cautious enough to prevent these direct purchases from being categorized as split-matter purchases and fractionation of procurement, as can be seen in an official list of direct purchases approved by Tocumen S.A. between July 2014 and December 2015.
Based on the report obtained by Panamá América and Crítica, it could be revealed that besides what was published on Panama Compra website, Tocumen S.A. has accumulated $ 20 million in direct contracts and purchases from a chosen group of companies linked to powerful families in this Government.
Fidanque himself appears to be a director in companies that have received significant direct contracts.
Moreover, Fidanque appears to be a director in the companies Cochez y Cía S.A. and Geo F Novey, Inc. S.A., in accordance with the Public Registry of Panama. These two companies received 27 direct and fractionated purchases since Fidanque took office in Tocumen S.A. (See chart).
In both Cochez y Cía S.A. and Geo. F. Novey, Inc. S.A., Fidanque shares the post of director partner with Guillermo Henne Motta, who has also been benefited from substantial direct contracts at Tocumen S.A. under this administration with the company Panama Waste Management. It involves four direct contracts during 2015 for the local collection of garbage from Tocumen Airport, two of them on the same day, 17 April, for 102 thousand 417 dollars and 136 thousand 161 dollars.
On June 11, 2015, Fidanque hired once again Panama Waste Management for 102 thousand 417 dollars for the same services. A month later, on 24 July Fidanque´s partner´s company received another direct contract for the same amount 102 thousand 417 dollars. In total, the four direct contracts to Panama Waste Management totaled 443 thousand 412 dollars between April and July 2015.
Friends and acquaintances, the trend with Fidanque The first direct contracts which Fidanque signed since he assumed the post as Tocumen S.A.´s Manager were the prelude of what would happen. On July 25, 2014, Fidanque hired directly the company Servicios Tecnológicos de Incineración (STI) for 85 thousand dollars a month for the collection, transport and incineration of international waste in Tocumen terminal.
Fidanque admitted in a TV news program that two days after he took office he phoned an "acquaintance" to offer them a direct contract for the management and final disposal of international waste in the air terminal. "I called someone I knew who knew about that (operation)”. "I told them let´s be patriotic, I need for you to charge me a fair price", said
Fidanque, referring to one of STI´s owners, Juan David Morgan.
Since then, Tocumen S.A. has renewed in a direct fashion the contract with STI three times for 85 thousand dollars a month, with promise of tendering the service once the first contract fell due falling into oblivion.
But business between Tocumen S.A. and Fidanque´s "acquaintance" were not only through the STI company. In 2015 the company Tecnología Aplicada S.A. received other six contracts for 56 thousand 327 dollars, three of them in the month of March.
Friends and acquaintances, the trend with Fidanque
The first direct contracts which Fidanque signed since he assumed the post as Tocumen S.A.´s Manager were the prelude of what would happen. On July 25, 2014, Fidanque hired directly the company Servicios Tecnológicos de Incineración (STI) for 85 thousand dollars a month for the collection, transport and incineration of international waste in Tocumen terminal.
Fidanque admitted in a TV news program that two days after he took office he phoned an "acquaintance" to offer them a direct contract for the management and final disposal of international waste in the air terminal. "I called someone I knew who knew about that (operation)”. "I told them let´s be patriotic, I need for you to charge me a fair price", said Fidanque, referring to one of STI´s owners, Juan David Morgan.
Since then, Tocumen S.A. has renewed in a direct fashion the contract with STI three times for 85 thousand dollars a month, with promise of tendering the service once the first contract fell due falling into oblivion.But business between Tocumen S.A. and Fidanque´s "acquaintance" were not only through the STI company. In 2015 the company Tecnología Aplicada S.A. received other six contracts for 56 thousand 327 dollars, three of them in the month of March.
Numbers
4 Direct contracts received by Intelisis S.A. during the year 2015 from Tocumen S.A.
164 Thousand dollars is the total amount of all contracts received by Intelisis.
Business data
20 million dollars in direct purchases have been processed by Tocumen S.A.
11 million dollars of those purchases were processed during 2015.
