The continuing story of Ricardo Martinelli, his family and trials

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DOJ alerted Panama to probe of Martinelli’s Super 99

Posted 31/08/2022

In March 2018, the Office of International Affairs of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division,  sent a letter to his Panamanian counterpart,  requesting assistance in the Odebrecht case, which involved, among others, the main company of the Martinelli group: Importadora Ricamar, SA (Irisa) reports La Prensa.

"The investigation has revealed that the subjects of the investigation transferred funds to accounts located in Panama and from these, to facilitate corrupt payments to foreign officials, " the request states, referring to companies controlled by Odebrecht. The DOJ wanted  “the records of the Panamanian banks” of the accounts that those companies had or could have in Panama.

The letter summarily described Odebrecht's money laundering operations on behalf of corrupt officials in various Latin American countries.

For example, the US prosecutor cited the case of a ruling by the 13th Court of the Federal Criminal District of Curitiba (Brazil) – dated March 8, 2016 – which referred to bank accounts used by Odebrecht in several countries, such as Panama. "This sentence identified an account in the name of Constructora Internacional del Sur, held at Credicorp Bank, in Panama" , a company that, together with Select Engineering Consulting Services and several other companies, transferred abroad and locally -from that bank – hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes.

A relevant piece of information in this request is that the DOJ reveals that it obtained a copy of the Drousys software Odebrecht's encrypted communications system to move dirty money to corrupt officials on the continent.

In other words, the DOJ is in possession of the software that stored Odebrecht's corrupt daily payment schedules, managed by the Structured Operations Division or Odebrecht's bribery department.

However, the forms, although they indicate the number of bribes that were paid daily, the projects from which the funds came, and their destination, only mention the beneficiaries by their nicknames.

The US prosecutor indicated that they obtained from Drousys the names of 52 companies) based in Panama “in relation to the illicit activities of the Structured Operations Division” and that they would have had accounts in at least 27 local and foreign banks licensed to carry out their activities in the country.

The request sought to “trace bribery payments and profits sent and received in these accounts”.

US prosecutors were investigating 14 types of crimes, including racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; interstate and foreign travel or transportation in support of organized criminal activity; violations of the law on corrupt practices abroad related to crimes such as corruption in general and accounting in particular. money laundering and participation in monetary transactions with goods derived from illicit activities.

The DOJ asked Panama for "complete certified copies of any and all corporate records, including articles of incorporation, corporate applications, and all licenses and authorizations to conduct business in Panama ," from a list of at least 50 companies. , several of which are mentioned in the tax hearing of the Odebrecht case.

In addition, the Americans asked the Public Ministry for the bank records of 47 companies with accounts in 25 local and foreign banks in Panama.

16 Super 99  accounts
Several of these companies investigated by the DOJ are related to companies belonging to the family of former President Ricardo Martinelli, including the most important of the group of Martinelli Companies: Importadora Ricamar, SA (Irisa),  the corporate name of Super 99.

The US Prosecutor asked the MP to investigate 16 Irisa bank accounts in 9 banks.

 Irisa is also the subject of a forensic audit by the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI), which last May received an intelligence alert from the FBI about alleged activities aimed at tax evasion.

La Prensa had access to this document– in which the FBI informed local authorities of a possible crime of “tax evasion”. That letter describes operations through which the family of former President Martinelli, including his wife and children, would benefit from "irregular" financial arrangements through Irisa.

Martinelli's reaction to the FBI intelligence report was to dismiss it. He said he did not believe the FBI was interested in his business and tax activities.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/doj-alerted-panama-to-probe-of-martinellis-super-99

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Martinelli  faces “New Business” trial on October 31

Posted 24/10/2022

Former Panama President, Ricardo Martinelli, will go to a preliminary hearing for the New Business case, after the third judge for the Settlement of Criminal Cases, Baloísa Marquínez, lifted the suspension of the process followed by the former president.

Judge Marquínez ordered, "the prosecution of the criminal business followed by the same crime" and set the preliminary hearing date for October 31 and alternate date for November 29.

A public defender was appointed in case of a no-show by Martinelli’s defense team.

On October 21 she called 20 people charged in the New Business case to trial.

It also provisionally dismissed another 9 people who were investigated for money laundering.

The judge denied the incidents of annulment and prescription of the criminal action presented by the defenders; she denied the request for disapproval made by the legal representative of a company; as well as the petition for definitive dismissal filed by another defense attorney. She also denied the bail review request filed in favor of one of the defendants.

On August 11, in the plenary session of the Supreme Court it was agreed by a majority to declare unconstitutional the decision of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) that maintained the criminal jurisdiction of Martinelli) for the New Business case.

The decision of the highest constitutional court, was adopted by a majority, had Judge María Eugenia López Arias as rapporteur, and had six votes in favor and three votes against," highlights the official communication.

The ruling has its origin in a decision made by the Plenary of the Electoral Court to revoke the decision of the Second Administrative Electoral Court that at the time removed the electoral criminal jurisdiction from former President Martinelli.

The third liquidator judge of criminal cases,  Baloisa Marquínes, had requested the lifting of the electoral jurisdiction of the former president.

On February 23,  an electoral court ruled in favor of Judge Marquínez and ordered the lifting of the jurisdiction, however, the Martinelli defense filed an appeal for which the case passed to the Plenary of the Electoral Court. which is made up of the magistrates:  Heriberto Araúz, Eduardo Valdés Escoffery, and Alfredo Juncá.

Judges Araúz and Juncá voted in favor of revoking the resolution that removed Martinelli from electoral criminal jurisdiction, while Judge Escoffery saved his vote.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-faces-new-business-trial-on-october-31

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Supreme Court rejects appeal by the son of ex-president

Posted 28/10/2022

Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice did not admit an Amparo of constitutional guarantees presented by the defense of Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, which sought to prevent him from being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor in the Blue Apple case.

Under the presentation of Judge María Eugenia López Arias, the Court did not admit the protection of constitutional guarantees presented by Luis Eduardo Camacho González, considering that in the appeal no arguments were presented that support a possible violation of constitutional norms.

The Amparo sought to annul a decision of the Third Liquidator Court of Criminal Cases, which kept in force the order of investigation of Martinelli Linares, issued by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office in the investigation for alleged money laundering through the company Blue Apple.

On August 5, 2021, during the preliminary hearing in this case, the liquidating judge Baloísa Marquínez denied an appeal for annulment filed by Camacho González against the inquiry order issued by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The decision was appealed through the protection of constitutional guarantees before the First Superior Court of Justice, which also rejected the appeal, and the defense of Martinelli Linares appealed before the Supreme Court.

The Court's ruling highlights that no arguments have been raised to clearly demonstrate how Judge Marquínez violated the constitutional guarantees of Martinelli Linares.

On August 16, the trial of 26  in the Blue Apple case was suspended due to a series of appeals filed by the defense attorneys of several defendants.

In November 2021, Judge Marquínez called 26 people to trial, taking into account the evidence provided by the prosecution, such as the testimony of the former project director of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), Jorge Churro Ruiz, and the statement of several contractors who obtained projects between the years 2012 and 2014.

Ruiz told the prosecution that Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares proposed an operation in which he had to request money from the MOP's contracting companies, as political support. This statement was later endorsed before the prosecution by the contractors themselves, who reached effective collaboration agreements.

Ruiz added that the former MOP ministers during the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli Federico José Pepe Suárez and Jaime Ford, had a share in the collections from these companies.

This investigation, which consists of 352 volumes, began on October 30, 2017 and is related to an alleged corruption network, made up of officials, businessmen and lawyers, who -according to the prosecution- requested commissions from contractors for the award of tenders. with the state.

Ricardo Alberto and his brother Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares are currently serving 36 months in prison in a US federal prison, having pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder Odebrecht bribes.

The sentence was imposed after the brothers confessed to laundering at least $28 million in bribes from Odebrecht, using the US financial system following, according to them, instructions from their father.

The Martinelli Linares brothers also appear in the process that Judge Marquínez is carrying out for the Odebrecht bribes. In this case, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested to prosecute 49 people and intends to include in its indictment evidence the transcripts and the conviction of Martinelli Linares, issued by Judge Raymond Dearie, of the Court of the Eastern District of New York on May 20.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-appeal-by-the-son-of-ex-president

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Martinelli lawyers move to delay New Business hearing

Posted 29/10/2022

The preliminary hearing for former President Ricardo Martinelli for alleged money laundering through the purchase of the Panama America publisher (Epasa) by the  New Business company, scheduled for Monday, October 31, was suspended after his legal team presented an incident of nullity. The appeal is being transferred to the Public Ministry.

The Third Criminal Cases Liquidator Court, in charge of Judge Baloísa Marquínez, rescheduled the hearing of the former president for November 29, 2022, which was the alternative date already established.

“In this process, an alternate public defender was appointed in order to guarantee the right to defense, in the event that the private technical defender does not appear,” the press release highlights.

The investigation began in 2017, when the Public Ministry  revealed that the purchase of Epasa was managed through a basket company called New Business and that the money contributed came from contracts awarded to various companies for the alleged execution of public infrastructure works

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-lawyers-move-to-delay-new-business-hearing

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Judge has 30 days to decide on the guilt of  $13 million Pegasus loss

Posted 31/10/2022

A judge of liquidating criminal cases accepted on October 31 that at the end of 30 days to decide whether the former director of the National Police, Gustavo Pérez, and the former director of the extinct National Assistance Program Giacomo Tamburelli are guilty or not for the loss of Pegasus software, acquired from Israel that served for intercepting phone calls.

The diligence lasted about three hours and the defense of Pérez, Tamburelli and the Prosecutor's Office were present.

At the hearing, the former members of the National Security Council, William Pittí and Ronny Rodríguez, who did not appear in the process, were declared guilty in absentia.

Pérez's defense, lawyer Alfredo Vallarino, assured that it was not a lost machine, but software.

The Prosecutor's Office, for its part, requested a sentence for Pérez and Tamburelli and argued that it had presented all the evidence.

Pérez's defense, lawyer Alfredo Vallarino, assured that it was not a lost machine, but software.

The software would have cost the State $13 million and was not found when the government changed.

The same would have been allegedly used for illegal wiretapping during the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/judge-has-30-days-to-decide-on-the-guilt-of-13-million-pegasus-loss

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Supreme Court rejects Martinelli’s New Business appeal

The New Business prosecution team

Posted 14/11/2022

With the presentation of the magistrate, Miriam Cheng Rojas, the Supreme Court rejected an Amparo of constitutional guarantees presented in favor of former president Ricardo Martinelli for alleged money laundering of the company New Business, used for the acquisition of Editora Panamá América (Epasa).

The ruling, dated October 12 means that on November 29, Martinelli will face the preliminary hearing for the case. The court has already called 20 people to trial.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-martinellis-new-business-appeal

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Martinelli used millions of public funds to buy media empire - Prosecutor

Posted 29/11/2022

In the November 29 hearing of the New Business case Prosecutor Uris Vargas began his speech by explaining how the purchase of Epasa was managed with millions of dollars of public funds, channeled through the New Business company. The money came from contracts granted to different companies and societies, for the execution of public works. The prosecutor specifically mentioned the contract for the construction of a new building for the National Assembly, awarded to the company Constructora Corcione.

Vargas explained how the money circulated through different accounts and companies, "to reach the same destination in a simulated way", which in this case was the New Business company.

Martinelli's participation is accredited, since it was proven that the former president contractors of the Panamanian State, contributed $11.4 million through the company Ricamar Financial Company Inc., ordered the first payment of $5 million for the purchase of Epasa and integrated the sum of $10 million obtained through a loan from Global Bank to the real estate company TPA, SA

Reference was made to the testimonies of David Ochi, Felipe Virzi, Samuel Jiménez, and Riccardo Francolini , in which it is stated that "fictitious contracts" were drawn up, to give an appearance of legality to the entire operation.

The prosecutor cited a statement by the lawyer Ricardo Chanis, who for a time chaired and was a resident agent of Epasa, in which he certifies that 60% of the company's shares are under the control of Martinelli. The remaining 40% was held by Henry Mizrachi Cohen, who -according to the Public Ministry- transferred some shares to the Panamanian State when he found out about the investigation for alleged money laundering. However, it is Martinelli who exercises "final control of these actions."

The defense began by saying that the file is a fable, that his client is prosecuted for "political motivations" and that the investigation was carried out based on rumors. He also insisted that his defendant is "protected" by the principle of specialty set forth in the bilateral extradition treaty between Panama and the United States and that he enjoys immunity as a member of Parlacen (although he resigned from that body in July 2018), although all this has already been disqualified by different judicial instances.

"Here there is a meeting between merchants that took place to contribute funds for the acquisition of a medium," he remarked, insisting that the funds are legal and pointing out that much of the money that Martinelli contributed was accredited in the declaration of patrimonial assets that he presented when he took office as President of the Republic on July 1, 2009. Camacho did not show statement of assets, which has never been disclosed.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-used-millions-of-public-funds-to-buy-media-empire-prosecutor

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New Business hearing a litmus test for Panamanian justice

Posted 29/11/2022

The preliminary hearing for the 'New Business' case, in which former President Ricardo Martinelli, is accused of money laundering will be a litmus test for the Panamanian judicial system legal observers told La Estrella.

The hearing,  restarted  Tuesday at 9:00 am, in the Superior Court of Liquidation of Criminal Cases in charge of Judge Baloísa Marquínez

The lawyer Carlos Herrera Morán said that as a jurist and as a Panamanian citizen he welcomes the fact Martinelli is finally going to sit in the dock, who has used all kinds of subterfuges and trivial excuses. to evade justice. "None of this has worked for him and he will have to render an account before the Panamanian courts,"

He said that this is a serious case in which resources from acts of corruption were used to buy media, so he believes that the crime committed cannot go unpunished. "This is a historic trial, it is a test for justice.” Political analyst José Eugenio Stoute argued that there is little that can be said about the alternative hearing that the former president will have to face trial for the very serious charges that the prosecution formulated against him,"

Anette Planells, from the Independent Movement (Movin) said that they hope that the hearing will take place, since it, she specified, "should have been done in January but the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, in complicity with Martinelli, maintained a criminal jurisdiction that was declared unconstitutional.” She added that Judge Baloísa Marquínez now has the opportunity to put Martinelli on trial and answer before the courts before seeking immunity by aspiring t

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/new-business-hearing-a-litmus-test-for-panamanian-justice

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Martinelli New Business ruling by year-end

Posted 30/11/2022

Judge Baloisa Marquínez will accept the term of the Law to give her ruling on the hearing of former President Ricardo Martinelli for the New Business Case, after having heard the allegations of the prosecutor Uris Vargas and the defense attorney Luis Eduardo Camacho for two hours on Tuesday, November 29 at the preliminary hearing following a 5-year  investigation of the Public Ministry of alleged money laundering.

The hearing began in January of this year, but Martinelli did not participate because he enjoyed electoral criminal jurisdiction, so until now, after the appeal to trial was made to the other defendants.

Judge Baloisa Marquínez began the hearing by clarifying to the defense attorney Luis Eduardo Camacho Jr., who has also represented him in other criminal cases. that on this occasion there is no room for incidents because it is a continuation of the hearing, but he could file his incidents once the prosecution finished with its presentation.

The reading of the tax hearing was carried out by prosecutor Uris Vargas, who ratified the tax hearing presented by the First Specialized Prosecutor against Organized Crime against the former president, in which the trial was requested.

He pointed out that the actions of the former president comply with the phases required by the commission of the crime of money laundering.

According to what rests in the tax hearing, the preparation stage began in 2010, when the former president required businessmen who contracted with the State a percentage of the amount of the contracts they signed with the State, according to what the witnesses indicate They also say that the former president personally contacted the businessmen.

Among the witnesses, there are two employees of the FCC company, Mike Btesh, Ramón Carretero, and the late Felipe 'Pipo' Virzi, who gave an account of the previous contract that Martinelli made in order to obtain the amount he needed for the purchase of Editora Panamá América SA (Epasa).

The placement phase took place after the approach with the contractors, who later benefited from contracts and addendums.

Urbis detailed some of the contracts from which these companies benefited, including the Design and Construction for the rehabilitation of the widening of the Arraiján-La Chorrera Highway.

He indicated that the money paid by the MEF was stratified through public limited companies and ultimately ended up in the basket account of New Business Serving Service LTD.

Financial Pacific INC provided 2 million dollars to the New Business Serving Service LTD account, violating stock market regulations since it was not legally authorized to make these contracts and the origin of the funds is doubtful.

"This stratification process demonstrates the traceability of money of illicit origin that was intended to appear legal, because that is money laundering, dirty money from crimes," said Vargas.

Once the funds were obtained, the newspaper Epasa was purchased, and the company TPAHC INC was created with the purpose of managing the shares of Epasa, where it is certified that 60% of the shares have the final control of former President Martinelli and the rest belongs to Henry Mizrachi.

The prosecution supported the way in which Martinelli contacted the Panamanian State contractors to be able to conclude the purchase of Epasa, in addition, he gave instructions to give and place the sum of $3 million dollars it came from the payment of a contract with the State.

They add that Martinelli contributed $11.450 million through the company Ricamar Financial Company, INC; to the account of New Business Serving Service SA, in addition, he disposed of the first payment required in the contract for the purchase-sale of Epasa for an amount of $5 million

During the reading of the tax hearing, Vargas summarized the inquiries with some collaborators who have accepted their participation in the plot, where they link the benefited contractors and the way in which they were contacted by the former president.

Martinelli's defense

Camacho began by referring to the Effective Collaboration Law, which, according to him, has been used to extort, coerce witnesses, ensuring that he will demonstrate how the alleged witnesses and collaborators contradict each other. 

He described the file of the Public Prosecutor's Office as armed “riots” on the basis of people who went from being accused and leaving the case.

"I do not share the illegal criteria, for me, here is a meeting of merchants that took place to provide funds for the acquisition of a medium," he said.

He said that there are clear things that demonstrate the lack of objectivity of the Public Ministry, which is used to criminally prosecute a person for political situations.

He pointed out that the Public Ministry carried out investigations against Martinelli, when he was still a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) , since this could only be done by the Supreme Court of Justice , for which reason he requested the definitive dismissal.

He stressed that he will demonstrate that there is no full proof of the existence of the punishable act, nor does it prove that he is linked to the crime for which he was charged.

He added that the funds contributed by Martinelli for the purchase of the newspaper were not illegal because they came from his pecuniary, which was documented in his declaration of assets at the time he entered the Presidency of the Republic and the Public Ministry never said that this money was illegal because they are not.

He stressed that Martinelli did not simulate operations, nor did he hide the origin of the money because it came from his commercial activities.

He continued giving his reasons why, in his opinion, there could not have been a crime in the transactions carried out for the purchase of Epasa, until culminating with his intervention reiterating his request for the definitive dismissal Martinelli. 

The superior prosecutor Emeldo Márquez , pointed out that the contributions made by former President Martinelli will be discussed at the hearing of funds, indicating that the theory of the case of the Public Ministry is based on the request to contractors of 10% of each of the contracts awarded. for the purchase of Epasa.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-new-business-ruling-by-year-end

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Martinelli called to trial  for “New Business” money laundering

Posted 09/12/2022

The third judge liquidating criminal cases of the First Judicial Circuit, Baloísa Marquínez, ordered the trial of the former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, for the alleged commission of a crime against the economic order in the form of money laundering in the “New Business” case.

In a statement from the Judicial Branch, it was indicated that "it is important to highlight that the Third Settlement Court for Criminal Cases issued the writ of summons to trial No. 23 of December 9, 2022, within the term established by law, to issue the qualification of the legal merit of this criminal proceeding.” 

The main hearing date was set from April 17 to 28, 2023, and as an alternate date from May 23 to June 5, 2023, both hearings at 9:00 a.m. A public defender from the Defense Institute was appointed in the event that the private technical defense of the former President does not appear.

Judge Marquínez, after examining the summary, stated that the procedural records incorporated established the existence of precedent crimes that prove that the investigated funds had an illegal origin.

 Likewise, the court established the link between the former President of the Republic and the crime of money laundering.

Judge Baloísa Marquínez ordered in the resolution, to deny an annulment incident for violation of the electoral criminal jurisdiction, which had been presented by the private technical defense.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-called-to-trial-for-new-business-money-laundering

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Martinelli declared untraceable in  “girlfriend” spying investigation

Posted 12/12/2022

The investigations carried out by Spanish authorities in the case of the alleged spying in Mallorca on the "girlfriend" of former President Ricardo Martinelli), "is at a standstill", reports the Spanish newspaper El Diario.es

The woman spied upon declared that Martinelli used the Pegasus system and the Court of Gender Violence of Palma maintains the former president as an "untraceable" person.

The case came to light in March, when several Spanish media and news agencies reported that the authorities were investigating at least 11 people, including four agents of the Spanish Civil Guard, for a case of espionage and harassment of a woman

El Diario.es recalled that the investigations into the former president began with accusations that he allegedly commissioned and financed the surveillance of the woman after she filed two complaints for being "harassed by fear and concern for her physical and emotional integrity.".

The complaints, together with the entries and records made during the investigations and the evidence found on the phone of one of the defendants, led to the arrest of four agents of the Armed Institute, one of them belonging to the group that ensures security in buildings such as the Marivent Palace, added the media.

According to the investigations, those involved would have accepted Martinelli's mission in exchange for financial remuneration.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-declared-untraceable-in-girlfriend-spying-investigation

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Boxes of gold uncovered in Super-99  basements

Posted 11/01/2023

A recent publication, the digital medium Foco reveals the contents of the hard drive of the computer of Adolfo "Chichi" de Obarrio, who was the private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli  (2009-2014). The publication reports the purchase of gold bars and coins by the former official. He tells, for example, that in July 2010, at Credicorp Bank, De Obarrio bought $117,000 in gold in a single day.

However, gold purchases had been going on for at least six months before. In other words, after six months in government, De Obarrio was already buying gold. By July 2010 –one year after taking office from Martinelli – De Obarrio had already accumulated gold purchases that exceeded $750,000.

De Obarrio photographed the bars and kept those images on his computer, according to Foco. According to the documents exposed, De Obarrio also bought gold for Ricardo Martinelli, as well as for the Ricamar Financial Company; Richeliu Investment Company, Inc.; Vigo Real Estate Inc., and Inmobiliere Le Pita, Inc. The first two companies are mentioned in Odebrecht's tax hearing.

Richeliu Investment Company, for example, received funds from Caribbean Holding Services, a company owned by the former president's brother-in-law, Aaron Mizrachi whose company served as an intermediary to receive money from Odebrecht's Box 2 (the Structured Operations Sector its bribes department). Since January 2009, these funds were sent to Importadora Ricamar and other companies linked to the Martinellis.

According to the documents revealed by Foco, the mentioned companies paid part of the gold that De Obarrio bought, including Richeliu.

The company Kroll was hired in 2018 by the board of Empresas Martinelli, SA to create corporate governance –especially in Importadora Ricamar, owner of the 99 supermarkets–. The plan was to design and execute a "compliance monitoring program” monitoring" program, but Kroll resigned before the end of 2019.

However, Kroll was informed of some investigations carried out internally at Importadora Ricamar. One of these began in June 2019, when the compliance officer, Magalis Reyes (RIP), informed Kroll's representative, James Faulkner, that an "anonymous call by the corporate ethics line" had been answered, in which possible findings were reported in three places of the company.

On June 11, 2019, Reyes and two other senior Super 99 executives requested the company controller –in a letter– that, given their experience in the proceedings carried out at the Super 99 branch in Chitré, “we recommend taking an inventory complete detail in the vault located in the office of Mr. Ricardo Martinelli. It requires a full day of work since there is a lot of money in it, gold and silver coins of different denominations, paper money in different denominations from different countries, as well as gold and silver of different presentations, jewelry, documents personal files, copies of other people's legal files, photo albums, a large number of CDs, VHS and cassettes… ”

The letter also requested that an inventory be made at each Super 99 branch in its vault areas, listing everything found in them, including the security measures in place at each branch

Martinelli's Vault
The letter was accompanied by nine photographs that included a partial inventory of the interior of the security vault in Ricardo Martinelli's office, which was opened to discover inside, among other things, a "folder with information related to Fegali and his accounts." banking”; a folder "from the company Gaming and Service de Panamá, SA" and a folder "with information related to the company Shelf Holding, Inc.".

They also found “documents from the National Migration Directorate”; a folder “from the company Lucy Games [sic] related to dividends”; “documentation related to María Cristina González” [former Director of Immigration]; a folder "with information related to copies of checks in the name of JANOV"; “legal documents related to the complaint of Hidden Assets Resort & Marina”; "Office with a list of Chinese requesting authorized visas from the National Directorate of Migrations...".

Shelf Holding Inc. is a corporation in which former president Ernesto Pérez Balladares had a signature –which, according to investigations by the Public Ministry, received periodic deposits of money from Lucky Games, a company that in his government benefited with a direct concession, without bidding. The former president said in 2010 that the money received was legal and that he was not a shareholder of Lucky Games.

In the partial inventory of Martinelli's vault, "a one-kilo gold bar from Credicorp Bank" was also found; collector coins, gold coins; silver coins… cash of different denominations, and from other countries. But that was only the beginning.

The compliance officer in charge also carried out another procedure to verify the veracity of the complaints made by the ethics line of Importadora Ricamar. This time, they visited the Super 99 branch in Chitré, There they found a safe, wrapped in cardboard and plastic. The branch staff indicated that the safe had been there for 4 or 5 years.

The box of securities was not registered, according to the Reyes report, neither by Internal Audit nor by Operational Audit. The box was opened on June 10, 2019, by a locksmith. Inside they found a stuffed animal and three wooden boxes with alleged wine inside.

But the boxes did not contain wine, but something more valuable. They found 14 gold bars of one kilo each; a gold bar weighing five kilos, all with the Credicorp Bank logo; also three other bars of gold; four wooden boxes with silver bars and 104 gold coins of one ounce each.

They even found what appeared to be archaeological pieces that also appeared to be made of gold. La Prensa sent a note with five questions to Luis Eduardo Camacho, Martinelli's spokesman, for Martinelli to answer, but there was no response.

In addition to asking about the origin of the gold, with what funds it was purchased, and why it was not registered as the property of Importadora Ricamar,  it questioned why documents related to Shelf Holding and Lucky Games were found in the former president's safe, as well as documentation on "Fegali's" bank accounts and visa applications of Chinese citizens.

Rolando Rodriguez B. La Prensa

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/boxes-of-gold-uncovered-in-super-99-basements

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Public Ministry asked to probe gold found in Martinelli stores

Posted 15/01/2023

Lawyer Guillermo Cochez submitted a request to the Public Ministry after the newspaper La Prensa reported that in the offices of the private supermarket chain Super 99, owned by the Martinelli family, safes with gold, silver, money, and documents containing information related to legal proceedings.

Cochez wants to know if a crime is being committed and if there are merits to initiate a formal investigation.

The lawyer made the request on Friday, January 13, through a note addressed to the attorney general in charge, Javier Caraballo. He specifies that the content of the news signed by the journalist Rolando Rodríguez, entitled Gold, silver, and money were found in the Super 99 safes, published in the January 11, 2023 edition of La Prensa, should be investigated.

It adds that the report "also outlines that several files known to the Public Ministry and the Judicial Branch were found in said safes," which were in the private offices of former President Ricardo Martinelli, in Super 99.

For this reason, he asked Caraballo to "initiate the rigorous procedures to determine the existence or not of any punishable conduct."

The report by La Prensa arose after the digital outlet Foco revealed the contents of the hard drive of the computer of Adolfo Chichi de Obarrio, who was Martinelli's private secretary.

Among the findings, according to the news, are a "folder with information related to [Jean] Fegali and his bank accounts"; a folder "of the company Gaming and Service of Panama, SA" and a folder "with information related to the company Shelf Holding, Inc.", linked to former president Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994-1999), who -during his government appointed and then ordered the dismissal of Martinelli as director of the Social Security Fund (CSS).

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/public-ministry-asked-to-probe-gold-found-in-martinelli-stores-1

[Moderator_03]

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US fingers former president Martinelli for corruption

Posted 26/01/2023

Two hours after the arrival of the  sons of former Panama president  Ricardo Martinelli at Tocumen International Airport on Wednesday, January 25,  after their release from a US prison, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  fingered the father "for his involvement in acts of significant corruption."

“Specifically, Martinelli accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts during his term as president. These section 7031(c) designations make Martinelli and members of his immediate family ineligible to enter the United States," reports a statement from the US State Department, citing Blinken's words.

The document adds that accepting bribes in exchange for contracts for government projects undermines the integrity of Panama's democratic institutions and fuels the perception of corruption and impunity.

A statement from the US embassy in Panama reports the "removal" of the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, sons of the former president, from US territory and their delivery to the Panamanian authorities. This step was taken after they served a sentence in a New York jail for conspiracy to launder money from Odebrecht bribes.

In the statement, the ambassador, Mari Carmen Aponte, assures that "this will not be our last appointment in Panama."

They also explain that the public appointment is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2023, which provides that current and former foreign government officials for whom the secretary of State has credible information of direct or indirect participation in acts of significant corruption or flagrant violations of human rights, are not eligible to enter the United States, nor are their immediate family members.

In Panama, Martinelli is called to trial for two cases: Odebrecht and New Business while, he aspires to return to the Presidency in the May 2024 elections.

The two statements were made public almost two hours after the Martinelli Linares brothers arrived in Panama at 8:04 p.m. on United Airlines Flight 1021.

However, the authorities of the Tocumen International Airport and the National Immigration Service made sure that waiting photographers were unable to view their arrival.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/us-fingers-former-president-martinelli-for-corruption

[Moderator_03]

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World headlines that Panama doesn't need

Ex-president awaits his sons at Tocumen Airport. They reportedly avoided the meeting.

Posted 29/01/2023

This week, Panama slipped into the headlines of the international media to report on an unprecedented event in the country. Ricardo Martinelli was pointed out as a participant in significant acts of corruption. In the past, the furthest the US had gone was to remove the entry visa to that country. But what happened, I am sure, is only the first step, which can undoubtedly be escalated – depending on how far Martinelli wants to go – and which could culminate in a list that is more like a kind of cemetery, but without being dead.

Martinelli's arrogance and the veil that his servile court has put over his eyes prevented him from seeing the signs that were given last week. The visit to Panama of former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Otto Reich, for example, who enjoys enviable influence in Washington. His visit was not secret, he appeared on social networks together with the general director of Revenue, Publio De Gracia, who, at the time, audits the "corrupt" businesses.

I suppose that Reich would have also met with Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte, who, in her statement parallel to that of the State Department, made it very clear that, in addition to the designation of Martinelli as corrupt, "this will not be our last designation in Panama ”.

Imported justice
Our judicial authorities have been genuflecting, complacent, sold out, and corrupt, and that is why justice comes to us from outside.

There will be no shortage of those who allege that this is not justice, but a whim of the US and Ambassador Aponte, whom they accuse of meddling in the internal affairs of Panama. But I don't see anyone protesting that we stop using the US dollar and instead use balboas bills as legal tender. Nor do I see anyone protesting so that our banks no longer use Gringo correspondents.

What I do see is that when our internal affairs affect the security of another country, that has consequences. In short, Aponte has shown in just a couple of months more courage than the magistrates of superior courts have almost never shown in a lifetime of practice or the ten years that a lot of magistrates are in office.

Now, if everything is a whim, why not advise Martinelli to defend himself in the US, a country that, if he was good at partying, is better for clearing his name. But it takes courage, to overcome cowardice. And cowardice has turned out to be a formidable, unbeatable adversary.

Let's take Aponte's statement as good: "I know how concerned Panamanians are about corruption and fighting it is one of our priorities as an embassy, because corruption undermines the well-being of the population, the economy, and democracy."

In Panama, corruption is not a monopoly. This government has shown to have as many guts for theft as the other. Many will end up rich, and along the way, they will affect the lives of others, because if they fall on the same list of corrupt, the family that has nothing to do with the thief's activities will tell him: "I don't care if you steal as long as it does not affect me”, in the same way, that the US acts because the internal affairs of a country affect its national security.

Rolando Rodriguez B …(La Prensa)

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/world-headlines-that-panama-doesnt-need-1

[Moderator_03]

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Martinelli in The United States crosshairs – Ruben Blades

Singer-songwriter Ruben Blades.

Posted 31/01/2023

"Martinelli will not be president of Panama again",  said Panamanian singer-songwriter, Rubén Blades, reacting to the recent announcement by the United States that declared the ex-president "ineligible", Ricardo Martinelli, "for being corrupt".

The singer said he was not in the least surprised by the statement made by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and recalled that he recently wrote that the condemnation of his children by US justice for accepting bribes and for "laundering" money, It was just the beginning of actions against the former president.

 Blades also indicated that it was likely that they already had an "indictment" prepared for him (a formal accusation for a crime considered serious).

In fact, he predicts that his partners and relatives, and all his businesses, are already in the crosshairs of the US authorities and probably all of them will end up on the "Clinton List" , something that would actually make them economic outcasts worldwide.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-in-the-united-states-crosshairs-ruben-blades

[Moderator_03]

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Martinelli’s legal challenges at home and abroad

Posted 31/01/2023

The Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) is under investigation for money laundering and international corruption in the contracts they received in Panama during the Martinelli administration.                                                      

In the investigations that are being carried out in Madrid, Martinelli is accused, as well as Panamanian lawyer Mauricio Cort, as an alleged frontman for Martinelli.

The decision of the court to grant the extension obeys the request by the anti-corruption prosecutor because investigative proceedings regarding Line 1 of the Panama Metro and the Hospital City are still pending.

The prosecution's request was backed by the Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (Fibgar), which acts as a private prosecutor of  Martinelli

Martinelli's lawyers have tried on several occasions, but without success, to remove their client from the process. And, like those of Cort, they oppose the continuation of the investigation.

Martinelli intends to run as a presidential candidate in the 2024 elections. However, judicial problems – which  he calls “political persecution” harass him

Complicated year
On July 28, 2023, the investigations in Spain must be concluded and it will be known if  Martinelli will be called to answer for crimes of corruption and money laundering, which allegedly took place in that country.

The Spanish authorities, together with those of Switzerland and Andorra, keep millions of dollars in custody in accounts that, were fed with funds from corruption.

Likewise, a luxurious residence in the Los Jerónimos neighborhood, presumed to have been acquired with illicit funds, and remodeled by Martinelli’s eldest son, Ricardo Martinelli Linares, remains under surveillance in Madrid.

But, before that, Martinelli must face justice in Panama. On April 17, he must appear at the New Business hearing the scheme that was used for the purchase of Editora Panamá América, S.A. (Epasa) through the diversion of funds of illicit origin received from State contractors.

On August 1, Martinelli faces another trial, for alleged money laundering of the bribes paid by Odebrecht in Panama. The two sons of Martinelli, who will also be prosecuted in this case, confessed before a New York judge to laundering $28 million in bribes from Odebrecht, through the US financial system.

Last week, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced the official designation of Martinelli as having participated in "acts of significant corruption."

"Specifically, Martinelli accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts during his term as president," said Blinken, just minutes after his country handed over to the Panamanian authorities the two Martinellis who had been deported from the United States, after serving their sentence for money laundering.

Setback in Spain
On several occasions, the former president has tried to discredit the investigation carried out by the National Court in Spain. However, the case against him continues.

In October 2020, when Fibgar filed a complaint against Martinelli to be recognized as part of the process that had begun in Spain in 2017 for alleged crimes of money laundering and corruption in international economic transactions, he stated that it was a dirty campaign against him due to the success of his new political party, Realizando Metas (RM).

“My enemies use their international contacts to get a Spanish clown to file a reckless complaint,” said Martinelli, referring to former judge and president of Fibgar, Baltasar Garzón.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinellis-legal-challenges-at-home-and-abroad

[Moderator_03]

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Martinelli laundered money to buy Madrid apt – Spanish media

Posted 06/02/2023

In Spain, there is new evidence that former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) would have laundered money with the purchase of an apartment in Madrid for $3.2 million euros ($4.4 million).

According to Spanish media, the "operation materialized" with the payment of 3.2 million euros housed in a Spanish Novobanco account and that hours before had been transferred from another Global Bank account in Panama.

Judge Moreno requested information from Panama about the transaction and the response reached them last September.

“Internal data from Global Bank indicate that an account with that entity opened in the name of Desarrollo Inmobiliario Ibérico S.A. received on January 10, 2014, a deposit of $4.4. million. Two days later, that amount was fully used to build a fixed-term deposit. Subsequently, on January 18, 2014, Martinelli's company requested a loan for the same amount, $4.4 million, from the same bank”, reads the journalistic note that cites part of the letter rogatory answered by Panama along with the bank movements analyzed by UCO.It also added that the Civil Guard considers that the operation "was only intended to give the appearance of legality to the $4.4 million deposited in Novobanco for the purchase of the house and to prevent an alarm from going off for possible money-laundering.

According to El Confidencial, the information sent by Panama "does not clarify where the 4.4 million initially deposited in the Global Bank came from, although on that date Martinelli was still president and the movement fits into the usual practice of the plot, which also resorted numerous times to that bank, which was controlled by the president's clan.

It also adds that two months after the purchase, Martinelli undid the fixed-term deposit and used the $4.4 million released to pay off the loan for the same amount.

"In the opinion of the Civil Guard, these transactions without commercial logic and with the aim of concealment underpin the evidence of crime against the former Central American leader,".

Imputation
The Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office initiated the case in 2017 after a public action against the Spanish construction company FCC.

His imputation came in 2020 after the Baltasar Garzón International Foundation, which fights worldwide against impunity, denounced Martinelli was being left out of the investigations despite all the evidence pointing in his direction.

“Political persecution”
Martinelli's defense has formally requested, on two occasions, that his client be dismissed because they maintain his innocence and that everything is due to "political persecution" against him. In both cases, the request was denied.

According to the Spanish media, FCC would have paid 82.7 million euros, inflating the cost of the steel it used in the works or pretending that it was acquiring more tons than it actually used.

The Panamanian lawyer, Mauricio Cort, also accused, was in charge of making the payments to Martinelli and leaders of other countries, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

The FCC itself recognized the commissions in 2019 and denounced before the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor its links with Cort, in its role as front-man and accomplice of the structure that would serve as a front for money laundering.

On January 30, La Prensa reported that the National Court of Spain had extended, forr six months, the investigations of FCC that involve Martinelli.

On April 25, 2017, La Prensa reported that Martinell's eldest son, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, bought the apartment in one of the most expensive and luxurious neighborhoods in the city of Madrid.

Rica, as she is known in Panama, arrived on Ruiz de Alarcón street with the typical profile of her neighbors: wealthy Spanish families or foreign investors seeking to live in the center of the city, surrounded by the exuberance of the Retiro Park, near the Cibeles Fountain or the Puerta de Alcalá having the Museo Nacional del Prado as a backdrop.

Rolando Rodríguez Cedeño, then Secretary General of the Attorney General's Office, reported that the original cost of the apartment was $2 million, but improvements valued at $1 million were made, so its price rose.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-laundered-money-to-buy-madrid-apt-spanish-media

[Moderator_03]

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“Martinelli was bribed”- US ambassador

Posted 27/02/2023

On Monday, February 27  the day that former president Ricardo Martinelli formalized his bid for re-election, The United States ambassador to Panama, Mari Carmen Aponte spoke with TVN Noticias on various topics including the banning of Martinelli from the US for significant corruption.

Aponte said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken 's appointment is aimed at keeping corrupt people out of the United States, so he wants to send clear messages that corruption undermines democracy.

“ He was bribed and improperly awarded contracts during the term of his presidency. The United States cares a lot and wants to send clear messages. This is a way to send those messages and keep people who are corrupt out of the US border,” she said.

She was questioned about the way in which relations would be affected if a person from the banned list comes to power, since the former president presented his candidacy for the Presidency for the Realizando Metas party, and is emerging as one of the strongest candidates for the elections of 2024.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-was-bribed-us-ambassador-2

[Moderator_03]

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Speculation over indictment heading for Panama

Mari Carmen Aponte, United States ambassador.

Posted 01/03/2023

The British writer of spy novels Ian Fleming, put one of his classic characters to say that: "once is a coincidence, twice is chance and three is the action of the enemy," writes Rodrigo Noriega in La Prensa

The coincidence of this story occurred on January 25 when the brothers Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares returned to the country, after their stay in a prison in the United States. The two brothers were detained between July 6, 2020 first in Guatemala; and on January 25, 2023 in the United States. That is, they spent 2 years, 6 months, and 19 days deprived of liberty.

The night of their return, they received the news that United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken had designated their father, former President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, as the fifth former Latin American president on the corrupt naming list.

On February 27, the former president formalized his aspiration to be elected presidential candidate in the internal elections of the Realizing Goals party, programs for June 4.

The coincidence of this story came faster than the word Odebrecht, when that same day, the current ambassador of the United States in Panama, Mari Carmen Aponte reiterated in two television interviews -with the journalist Sabrina Bacal of TVN and the journalist Atenógenes Rodríguez of Telemetro, respectively - what the United States thought of the former president.

Words like "bribery", "public procurement" and "money laundering" were the context of the statements by the senior official. The diplomat was very respectful of the self-determination of the Panamanian people and said that they will work with whoever was elected president of Panama.

Panamanians being as credulous as we are, this suggests that on Sunday, June 4, the day of the internal election of the Realizando Metas party, we can expect another message.

To give a margin of action, let's say that another statement may come 48 hours before or after June 4.

Let's understand the importance of what is happening. On January 25, Secretary Blinken designated the acting Vice President of the Republic of Paraguay, Hugo Velázquez, as "corrupt"; as well as former president Horacio Cartes, who entered the corrupt list last July, and now ended up on the OFAC list, or rather the Clinton list, that same night.

Paraguayan society expressed itself firmly and the majority of political parties together with business and civil society leaders called for forceful action from the Paraguayan justice system and the immediate resignation of the vice president.

In Panama, on the other hand, Blinken's message came and went between possible electoral agreements, unmentionable pacts in the National Assembly, and a disgusting little regard from the political class and business leaders of this country. As if that were not with us.

Given the obvious bad note that the lack of awareness of Panamanians regarding the integrity of the government of our country and the lack of national commotion due to what obviously seems an overdose of judicial and political impunity, it is clear that the next act of this tragedy is going to be much more forceful than a list, and much blunter than an interview.

Will the United States repeat the path of Horacio Cartes in Panama? That is, will the inclusion of a Panamanian and his companies on the Clinton list be announced in the near future? I think that the United States government is very sensitive to the economic reality of Panama, the most direct message available takes us back to the Odebrecht case in New York.

Remember that the 2 convicted young Panamanian businessmen were part of a “conspiracy”. There are other co-defendants in a sealed prosecution, an "indictment" that awaits to be opened on any given day.

For those who are concerned about the impossibility of extraditing a Panamanian citizen to another country, due to what happened in 1989, Panamanian history records that a citizen of this country could be extradited to the United States by unorthodox methods.

Let's not get too far ahead. There is still more to go, much more. 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/speculation-over-indictment-heading-for-panama

[Moderator_03]

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Court rejects Martinelli's bid to  muzzle media

Posted 10/03/2023

Former President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal sought to prevent, through the courts, the digital portal Foco Panama from disseminating photos and information about him and his family.

but the guarantee judge Oris Medina denied a request that Martinelli presented, within the process followed against Mauricio Valenzuela and Annette Planells, journalist and co-founder of Foco, for the alleged commission of the crime of libel.

In a hearing held Tuesday, Judge Medina determined that the rights alleged by Martinelli as a victim have not been violated and that the media cannot be prevented from disclosing information, since it would be censorship that is prohibited in the Constitution.

The judge also denied a request from the prosecution to send letters to the National Migration Service and the Land Transit and Transportation Authority to verify the address and immigration status of the accused.

The request made by Martinelli, who was represented by the lawyer Shirley Castañeda, is part of the libel complaint filed after Foco released a video of an alleged meeting between the ex-president and the husband of one of the judges in the wiretapping case, in which Martinelli was acquitted.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/court-rejects-martinelli039s-bid-to-muzzle-media-1

[Moderator_03]

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Martinelli’s fugitive former secretary gets 10-year sentence

Posted 13/03/2023

Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, former private secretary of ex-Panama President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), has been sentenced to 120 months in prison.

The court, headed by Águeda Rentería, declared De Obarrio –who currently lives in Milan, Italy– criminally responsible as the author of the crime against the economic order, in the form of money laundering, in the Blue Apple case.

As an accessory penalty, the court imposed on De Obarrio the payment of $5,948,000 and 92 cents, which he must pay to the National Treasury within 24 months once the main sentence has been served.

According to the Judicial Branch, the amount is equivalent to twice the economic benefit received and duly quantified.

According to the conviction of March 10, 2023, the court declared proven that De Obarrio was the final beneficiary of large sums of money that were delivered to them -mostly in cash- which came from the crime of corruption, a product of state projects.

 The investigation of the case began in 2017 and consists of 369 volumes. The process was opened after it was revealed that state contractors bribed high-ranking officials to keep million-dollar public works contracts.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinellis-fugitive-former-secretary-gets-10-year-sentence

[Moderator_03]

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Court  “flatly rejects” Martinelli bid to dodge laundering trial

Posted 13/04/2023

Judge Baloisa Marquínez, of the Second Criminal Case Settlement Court, flatly rejected a request from the defense of former President Ricardo Martinelli, in seeking electoral criminal jurisdiction.

According to a statement from the Judicial Branch, the document invoking electoral criminal jurisdiction was presented by Alejandro Pérez Saldaña in favor of the former president.

Martinelli is being investigated for the alleged commission of a crime against the economic order in the form of money laundering, in the so-called New Business case.

In addition, the ruling is based on the decisions issued by the Third Administrative Electoral Court and that of the plenary session of the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal.

Marquínez highlighted in her writing that there is already a firm and enforceable pronouncement by the electoral administrative authorities.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/court-flatly-rejects-martinelli-bid-to-dodge-laundering-trial-1

[Moderator_03]

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Opportunism clouds the image of justice

Posted 14/04/2023

Next Monday the trial of the New Business case should begin, which has to do with the purchase of local media by a former president and his clique of partners, some state contractors, allegedly with public funds.

As always, the main defendant has resorted to his well-known delaying tactics with issues that have already been the subject of judicial decisions (in no case has he been found to be right), such as electoral criminal jurisdiction or the principle of specialty. He has even asked that deceased people be called as witnesses. This individual, whenever the judicial decisions are not to his liking, ensures that he is politically persecuted. Otherwise, when he does applaud justice and speaks beauties about judges and magistrates his speech is blatantly opportunistic and seeks to undermine the image of the Judiciary so that doubts harass the population regarding his cases. But while this subject undermines the credibility of his judges, the cases against him in other countries are advancing, although he cares little since they have no scope in Panama. At least we voters will know how far his greed, that of his family and those close to him, went. – LA PRENSA, Apr. 14.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/opportunism-clouds-the-image-of-justice

[Moderator_03]

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Challenges could postpone New Business trial

Baloisa Marquínez

Posted 17/04/2023

A challenge against the judge Second Liquidator of Criminal Cases, Baloisa Marquínez, and an appeal against the non-admission of a series of evidence adduced by the defense that would be used during the trial of 20 people for alleged money laundering through the company New Business for the acquisition of Editora Panamá América (Epasa), could cause its postponement.

It was set to start today, but last week a challenge was filed against Judge Marquínez by one of the defense lawyers and the appeal must be resolved before the trial is held.

Although it was not reported which of the lawyers who must appear at the trial filed the challenge, it was confirmed that it is in process reports La Prensa

The appeal is in the hands of Judge First Liquidator of Criminal Cases, Agueda Rentería, who must rule on the feasibility of the appeal filed.

On the other hand, the Superior Court of Settlement has not resolved an appeal against Judge Marquínez's decision to deny a series of tests requested by defense attorneys to be used during the trial.

Previously, the judge had established May 23 to June 5, 2023, as an alternate date for the trial.

In the case, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime managed to get the court to approve the presentation of 67 testimonial evidence, 27 expert opinions, and six expert opinions.

The investigation began in 2017, when the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime revealed that the purchase of Epasa was managed through a basket company called New Business and that the money contributed came from contracts granted to various companies for the alleged execution of works of public infrastructure, during the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli, one of the defendants.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/challenges-could-postpone-new-business-trial