Italian And Foreign Politicians On Finmeccanica's Payola List
Judicial investigations in Italy indicate the defense giant Finmeccanica used private foundations as fronts to pay bribes to bribes to politicians and representatives of foreign governments, as well as "inflated" invoices. The investigations have caused a domino effect within the company and have generated new resignations. The most recent to fall according to the Italian newspaper Il Quotidiano Fattto was Marina Grossi, former head of the company Selex, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, the which sold 19 radar sets to Panama for 90 million euros. Grossi is the wife of Pier Francesco Guarguaglini who was linked with the creation and management of a "black fund" used to pay bribes to politicians, both in Italy and outside of the territory of the European nation.
SILENCE IN PANAMA - The Italian media believe this is the "scandal of the century" due to the proportions it has taken. Although Panama has signed a multi million dollar contract awarded directly to the company Finemeccanica through its subsidiaries Selex, Agusta, and Telespazio, the Panamanian authorities are silent about it. So far the only audit has been conducted by the Comptroller of the Republic, according to reports from the Ministry of Security. The Comptroller has not said anything about it.
Direct Purchases - Panama signed an agreement to buy 19 radar sets, six helicopters (five of them gunships), and digitized mapping services from Finmeccanica - seen as a 'giant' in the manufacture of weapons and security equipment. According to a list handed to Italian judge Vincenzo Piscitello yesterday, Italian authorities are now investigating a new tactic used by the Italian company, "the supposed international corruption under the shadow of requests for bribes from foreign politicians and media outlets." (Estrella)
Valter Lavitola put all of this together in Panama, and now he's a fugitive from Italian justice.
Editor's Comment: It's a good thing someone is investigating this crap in Italy, because there's sure no one investigating anything here. I think this whole thing fell apart before the Panamanian contract was paid and before any bribes were paid. I bet it was in the works and the Panamanian deal was structured in exactly the same way as many other deals had been done in the past, but the Panamanian guys basically got "lucky" in that the house of cards came down before they got burned. Now, if some company official with credibility starts naming Panamanian names and providing detailed intelligence information in exchange for a reduced jail sentence, then they might be screwed. But if that never happens, and if they just keek their mouths shut, then it might just blow over. Too early to tell at this point, based on available information. Could go either way.
