Ventura and Chong face-off

PANAMA. Both partners of Colombian businessman David Murcia Guzman, Alex Ventura Nogueira and Ernesto Chong came face to face as part of the investigations of an alleged money bag Murcia gave Roberto Velazquez, father of PRD mayoralty candidate Bobby Velazquez.

Prosecutor Jose Ayu Prado called for the meeting yesterday at 10:00 a.m. to listen to the two versions of the allegations.

On his way into the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office, Ventura Nogueira confirmed again seeing Velasquez leave the Sheraton hotel room where Murcia resided in late October 2008 with a bag. However, he claimed he did not see the money, which was supposedly used to finance Bobby’s political campaign.

Ventura Nogueira had previously declared that Chong had brought the bag into the meeting between the Velasquezs and Murcia, allegations which Chong has said are false.

Both men,seeming to be some of the alleged pyramid-schemer’s closest links in Panama. were repeatedly mentioned by Murcia during interviews with Panamanian media,

Chong is Panamanian, a car racing fanatic, who was Murcia’s financial advisor. According to files from the prosecutor’s office, he administered Murcia’s bank accounts and assets while in Panama.

Proof has also surfaced of Chong being in the same car as Murcia the night he was captured. Yet Chong has been relatively quiet on the case lately, using only a few phrases to refer to the case: “I don’t know, I don’t know him, that is a lie?”.

Ventura Nogueira is a Brazilian real estate agent, who has spent the last eight years in Panama. He was the one giving declarations before the Colombian press in favor of Murcia before he was apprehended. The Brazilian businessman was set to buy the DMG franchise from Murcia before his arrest.

Chong and Ventura dislike each other. The Brazilian accuses Chong of manipulating the circumstances to keep Murcia’s money, as most of the Colombian’s assets were under Chong’s control.

The Panamanian, in the other hand, has said that Ventura , wants to blackmail him through these accusations. But Chong has stopped short of explaining why Murcia and Ventura would want to hurt him. “That you would have to ask them,” he said.