ALEX VENTURA TALKS

Chong was Murcia’s man

03-24-2009 | ALEXIS CHARRIS PALACIOS

acharris@laestrella.com.pa

David Murcia Guzman last days of freedom? Who was with him, before he was arrested in his hideout on Campana?

Panama Star PANAMA. The Brazilian Alex Ventura Nogueira is the only man in Panama that has admitted that he is David Murcia Guzman’s friend. Their relationship started when the Colombian offered to sell him the DMG operations in Panama.

Through that link he met Ernesto Chong, who according to Ventura was Murcia’s “man in Panama.”

Chong has denied that bond and in his defense he has presented a notarised contract, which shows that they had only a business relationship.

Meanwhile, Ventura shows another document that Murcia sent from jail, where the signature appears to be different. Chong is accusing Ventura of extortion.

According to Ventura, he met Chong at the Sheraton Hotel on October 21 2008, where he met Murcia to discuss the sale of the DMG franchise in Panama. In that meeting they talked with Martin Rodin about the marketing and the financing of the company.

After that the group went for dinner at the Beirut restaurant, where Murcia told Chong that Ventura was going to manage 40 percent of the operation.

Ventura explained that Chong was Murcia´s treasurer as he paid most of the bills and managed all of the money. If the Colombian needed something specific, he usually told one of his secretaries to contact Chong and ask him for money.

The Brazilian said that Chong used to do everything for Murcia, from finding houses for him, to contacting the bodyguards from the President’s Institutional Protection Service.

“David never handled money and Chong made all the arrangements and on one occasion I told him that his trusted treasurer was stealing for him” said Ventura.

Murcia said he had no problem with Chonga and when Murcia was in jail he asked me to deliver a letter telling his former employee to transfer some properties to his name.

Chong answer was that probably jail had made Murcia crazy, because he did not know what he was taking about. When Venture pressed for a response he kept insisting that the Colombian was crazy.

After that Murcia sent another letter that Ventura sent through his lawyers.

Chong has denied any ties with Murcia and insist that he was only an advisor, not his lawyer or his accountant.

However there is a file with hundred of documents showing links between PMC, which is Chong company, with payments and other transactions to DMG, Murcia’s enterprise.

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CHONG’S VERSION

Ernesto Chong Coronado has denied since the first declarations of David Murcia Guzman that he had any links with him and he said in an affidavit to the Public Ministry that his dealings with him were a simple commercial relationship.

However, Chong was the recipient of two letter from Murcia, in which he asked his former employee to give his properties to Alex.

Confronted with these allegations, Chong said that all was a lie and he only met Murcia sporadically. He also said that he was a DMG advisor for a few week in 2008.

Since the scandal erupted at the beginning of the month, Chong has tried to put some distance between Murcia and himself, but his bonds with the Colombian appear to be stronger that anybody else has anticipated and with bot parties calling each other liars, it is difficult to decide who is telling the truth.

STAFF

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THE FRIEND

Alexandre Ventura Nogueira is a Brazilian who has lived in Panama for the last seven years.

He met David Murcia at the beginning of October 2008, when the Colombian offered to sale part of his company DMG.

They did not manage to reach an agreement, but they remain friends.