Judge Ismael Moreno has charged the Spanish company with the payment of illegal commissions and other similar crimes. He accuses him of paying EUR 82 million in commissions for the works to be awarded to the construction company.

The judge considers that the company generated "overruns" in steel supply contracts for these projects and that these funds "were used for alleged corruption payments". The aim was, among other things, to pay "illegal profits" through hidden payments to policy makers and public employees, among others.

Companies on display

The investigation began in 2017 after a lawsuit against a legal advisor from the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht, in relation to a purchase of officials and money laundering between 2009 and 2015. "This company relied on Spanish display companies to whitewash quantities derived from various construction companies, related to bribery cases, in exchange for awards," the car says.

The Anti-Corruption Commission explained to the judge that the three commercial companies established a consortium with the multinational Odebrecht to participate in the works competition of the nuclear power plant in Panama. The evidence suggests that participants in both contracts (FCC senior managers and Odebrecht workers) designed a scheme of repeated corruption, "increasing" the steel supply needed for the construction of the metro and invoicing twice the real price.

The National Court has explained that the persons administering the money-diverting companies have already testified in court to corruption and money laundering offences in international transactions. These companies are Global Quality Steel and Scees Steel, whose managers are Javier Ayora, Eduardo Trijueque and Sasa Arsic.