Italian conglomerate denies bribing Panama’s government

The Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica denied on Tuesday having “paid or promised bribes” in the form of cash or property to the Government of Panama.

The company was responding in a statement to the publication by the Italian press reports of new research on Valter Lavitoa the former director of the newspaper Avanti Lavitola Valter, charged with blackmailing the former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi in connection with their holidays with young people and pointing to the alleged payment of bribes to Panamanian officials in exchange for public contracts.

The story is making headlines around the world and, according to commentators, blackening the country’s name/Read Article