Odebrecht Corruption & Hearing

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A look back at the 13-day Odebrecht hearing

Anti-corruption prosecutor Ruth Morcillo arrives at the court hearing flanked by her team

Posted 29/09/2022

The preliminary hearing of the Odebrecht case ended on Wednesday with the announcement by Judge Baloísa Marquínez that she would accept the term allowed by law (30 days) to decide whether or not to call the 50 involved to trial.

In the 13-day hearing, the Public Ministry (MP)  exposed the complex plot used to distribute bribes, which involved companies, officials, politicians, figureheads, lawyers and banks, among others.

In turn, the lawyers of the defendants – for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering – based their defense, mainly, on three aspects: the statute of limitations of the punishable act, the evaluation of the MP's evidence, and political persecution.

Known strategies to avoid justice also came to light: the principle of specialty in the case of former President Ricardo Martinelli and the alleged immunity of the Central American Parliament enjoyed by him and also by former President Juan Carlos Varela.

At the end of the hearing, the prosecution refuted 14 of the 15 incidents presented by the defenders and asked the judge to dismiss them.

Considered the most emblematic corruption process in recent times, the Odebrecht case closed an important stage hearing, in which the Public Ministry presented its theory and the defenders of the accused presented their arguments.

Sitting at a desk and guarded by the Panamanian flag, Judge Baloísa Marquínez listened to each of the parties in the 13 days the hearing lasted.

At the beginning of the procedure (September 12), appeals were dismissed; in the prosecution's pleadings phase, she fined two defense attorneys who caused a distraction in the courtroom, and more than once called out others who tried to break the rules and harmony.

Lead prosecutor Ruth Morcillo asked the judge to dismiss 14 of the 15 incidents presented by the defenders. She only supported that of the former magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jerónimo Mejía, who alleged double jeopardy in the case of the Uruguayan citizen Maya Cikurel.

Morcillo refuted, the thesis of the lawyers of former President Juan Carlos Varela, that the Public Ministry does not have the competence to investigate him, since the former president is a deputy of the Central American Parliament and, therefore, the Court is the entity you should investigate it.

Specialty principal
Similar reasoning was used by the defense of Ricardo Martinelli who, in addition, once again resorted to the supposed principle of specialty.

"It is already an issue overcome... This court has already issued a concept," said the prosecutor and cited three court orders and one from the Second Superior Court that support that statement.

In the arguments phase, several of the lawyers of the 50 defendants raised the alleged non-existence of the preceding crime of money laundering.

An allegation that, according to former magistrate Harry Díaz, is "unbelievable." Diaz, consulted by La Prensa, said that only "a little common sense" is needed to analyze "a clear and evident situation": that Odebrecht paid bribes to officials and individuals in exchange for public infrastructure projects.

He said the conviction in the US of Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares for using the financial system of that country to launder $28 million in bribes from Odebrecht constitutes further evidence in favor of the prosecution.

"Money laundering is nothing more than trying to make it appear that funds from illicit activities are legal," he said, explaining that by acknowledging the use of the US banking system for this purpose, there was a confession that the funds received from Odebrecht t were bribes.

The former magistrate also valued the confessions of former executives of the company itself, which, agreed to pay $220 million to Panama, as a fine. “Trying to say that there is no precedent crime is calling the citizenry ignorant since the company itself recognized that it paid bribes in Panama,” he added.

The lawyer Rodrigo Noriega, said there are rulings of the Supreme Court that say that a prior offense is not needed to prove money laundering..

Noriega stressed that it was a "civilized" process despite that there were hostile moments, direct and indirect attacks on the Public Ministry and former anti-corruption prosecutors Tania Sterling and Zuleyka Moore, among others.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/a-look-back-at-the-13-day-odebrecht-hearing

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Andorra judge orders blocking of accounts linked to key Odebrecht suspects

Posted 06/10/2022

Eight accounts with about $33.5 million linked to former officials of the Government of Panama in the period 2009-2014 have been blocked by a judge from the Principality of Andorra, a key country for the triangulation of money from box 2 of Odebrecht the one that allegedly paid bribes to high officials, businessmen, and Latin American rulers, according to what the Spanish newspaper El País reported on Thursday.

The accounts that are kept in the Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA) are linked to the former Minister of the Presidency, Demetrio Papadimitriou , with a balance of approximately $205,741, but according to the investigations, the accounts moved $13 million during 2010-2014.

El País adds that another of those mentioned, close to former president Ricardo Martinelli and for whom a call to trial was requested in the Odebrecht case that is being carried out in Panama is Roberto Brin Azcárraga, $15 million to a company name Pachira Limited.

In addition, the account with an amount of $2.2 million was frozen for José Luis Saiz Villanueva, who confessed to having acted as a figurehead for former Minister of Economy and Finance Frank de Lima 

And Olmedo Augusto Méndez Tribaldos, who accumulates $2 million in the entity of the Pyrenean principality, will not be able to repatriate either due to the judicial yoke. Méndez also appears in the investigation carried out in Panama as De Lima's figurehead.

According to El País, like these officials, accounts have been frozen for many others related to the government of Alán García, who was president of Peru (2006-2011) and committed suicide after being arrested for the same case.

On September 28, the preliminary hearing of the Odebrecht case in Panama ended, where the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested a call to trial several former ministers of Martinelli's cabinet, businessmen who functioned as figureheads and former presidents Ricardo Martinelli  and Juan Carlos Varela.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/andorra-judge-orders-blocking-of-accounts-linked-to-key-odebrecht-suspects

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Ex-president  Varela speaks out on Odebrecht with former team members

Posted 12/10/2022

Former President, Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), on Wednesday, October 12, met with members of his former work team at the Golden Unicorn restaurant and said that, unlike other defendants, he went to testify in his time for the Odebrecht case.

“I am here [in Panama] and I have answered everything,” he said, referring to the seven occasions that he went to the Public Ministry.

He assured said that "by law" he became a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), for which he maintains that the jurisdiction to carry out the process would not correspond to the Third Liquidator Court, in charge of Baloisa Marquínez.

“There is no such parliamentary immunity, what exists is a definition of competence. The legal team helps protect the process in this instance, because if it is not in the jurisdiction of the current court, that puts what has been done at risk,” Varela said.

During the recent hearing, the defense of former president Varela denied that his client has any relationship with the bribes distributed by Odebrecht and that he does not know who corresponds to the pseudonym Cachaza with which the former president is allegedly identified in the Drousys system, used by the construction company to pay bribes.

His defense also argued that his client is a deputy, and therefore the Supreme Court is the only one competent to investigate him and not the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

Luis Hincapié, Mario Etchelecu, Dulcidio De La Guardia, Iván Zarak, José Luis Varela, Eyda Varela de Chinchilla, Álvaro Alemán, Jonathan Del Rosario, and Eduardo Carles attended the meeting.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/ex-president-varela-speaks-out-on-odebrecht-with-former-team-members

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Two former presidents among 36 facing laundering trial

Former Presidents Martinelli and Varela.

Posted 08/11/2022

Former Panama presidents, Ricardo Martinelli, and Juan Carlos Varela are two of the 36 people for whom Judge Baloisa Marquínez requested a trial in the Odebrecht case.

The list also includes former ministers, businessmen, lawyers, and the jailed sons of Ricardo Martinelli.

For the crime  of money laundering are:

1. Juan Antonio Niño Thumb - 2. Cristina Lozano Bonet - 3. Jaumes Llorenc Pamies Dolade - 4. Frances Xavier Perez Gimenez - 5. Andres Norberto Sanguinetti Barros - Javier Diaz Torrez - 7.Demetrius Papadimitriu Trifles - 8. Roberto Enrique Brin Azcarraga – 9. Jaime Jose Ford Castro - 10. Danna Harrick Atie -11. Evelyn Ivett Vartas Reynaga - 12. Francisco Jose Perez Ferreira –Frank George De Lima Gercich - 14. Federico Jose Suarez Cedeno - 15. Riccardo Francolini Arosemena -16. Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares - 17. Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares - 18. Navin Mohan Bhakta -19. Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez - 20. Jaime Leonel Lasso del Castillo - 21. Michelle Marie Lasso Barraza - 22. Carlos Alberto Duboy Sierra - 23. Aaron Ramon Mizrachi Malca - 24. Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal - 25. Aurora Muradas Fraiz -26. Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde - 27. Maria Isabel Carmona -  - 28. Jose Domingo Arias Villalaz - 29. Jorge Alberto Rosas Rodriguez - 30. Juan Carlos Rosas O'Donnell - 31. Rosa Mari Molino Paz - 32. Liz Elena DeSousa - 33. Paulo Cesar de Miranda - 34. Barry Williams Herman - 35. Juan Francisco Mutio Cerdeira - Rodrigo Alonso Diaz Paredes

Final dismissal for:Maria Bagatelas de Papadimitriu

Provisional dismissal for 1. Jose Antonio Porta Alvarez  - 2. Alexander Castellaneta Viloria - Franco Castellaneta Viloria - 4. Angelina Valero de Gamez - 5. Marcos Jesus Gamez Bustamante - 6. Alejandro Stanziola Conte - 7. Ursula Traute Banz Vallarino - 8. Maria del Sol del Pilar Rivera Bigas - 9. Linda Joanne Gesture Johnson - 10. Fernando Carreiro Muradas - 11. Maya Cikurel Spiller.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/two-former-presidents-among-36-facing-laundering-trial

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36 called to trial in Odebrecht case

The prosecution team

Posted 08/11/2022

The third criminal judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, Baloisa Marquínez, has summoned 36  to trial for money laundering in the Odebrecht case.

The court set the trial date from August 1 to 18, 2023, and as an alternate date from September 27 to October 17, 2023

For the last date, the judge appointed alternate public defenders to guarantee the right of defense, in the event that the private l defenders do not appear.

The judge provisionally dismissed 11 people and definitively 1 citizen for the crime of money laundering, and she ordered the lifting of the personal and real precautionary measures that had been imposed on some of the defendants.

 Importadora Ricamar owned by former president Ricardo Martinelli was left out of the case. The Public Ministry had requested a summons to trial for the crime of money laundering of this corporation, but the judge declared it non-viable.

The Court also denied 3 incidents of nullity due to lack of jurisdiction; 1 incident of nullity due to violation of the specialty principle; 6 incidents of prescription of criminal activity; 3 incidents of annulment due to violation of the principle of double jeopardy; 3 incidents of constitutional nullity; 1 incident of nullity due to infraction of the natural judge; 1 dispute incident; 1 incident of prior and special pronouncement and 1 incident of nullity due to lack of notification.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/36-called-to-trial-in-odebrecht-case

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Prosecutor analyzing appeal of Odebrecht provisional dismissals

Posted 09/11/2022

Ruth Morcillo the lead prosecutor in the Odebrecht case, where 36 people were called to trial, is analyzing whether to appeal the provisional dismissal of 11 accused.  The Public Ministry clarified that the summons to trial cannot be appealed, but the provisional dismissal can.

She said that, in the opinion of the Public Ministry, the date stipulated for the beginning of the plenary hearing is quite close, taking into account the number of people who are being called to trial and who will surely appeal the decision.

She stressed that in the substantive hearing, the Public Ministry will be responsible for verifying the intention of the person regarding the treacherous knowledge that he was laundering capital to the detriment of the Panamanian State,  and ensuring that the corresponding evidence exists.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/prosecutor-analyzing-appeal-of-odebrecht-provisional-dismissals

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Corruption prosecutor appeals ruling on Super 99

Posted 17/11/2022

The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has filed an appeal against the decision of criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez not to prosecute Importadora Ricamar, S.A. for alleged money laundering and insists that the company did receive funds from Odebrecht.

According to the prosecution, the investigation shows that the accounts of Importadora Ricamar - which operates the Super 99 chain, owned by the family of former president Ricardo Martinelli) - were used to receive funds from the Odebrecht construction company's Box 2, "that came from activities related to international bribery, corruption, and embezzlement."

That money came to Ricamar, through the Caribbean Holding company, controlled by Aaron Mizrachi, Martinelli's brother-in-law.

The payments that came to Ricamar, according to what André Rabello, former Odebrecht manager in Panama, declared, were compensation for "the favors rendered for the payments that were due [to Odebrecht] from the previous government and the projects that the company would carry out during the reign of Martinelli Berrocal”.

Alejandro Garúz, who testified in the process as the legal representative of Importadora Ricamar, pointed out that Caribbean Holding had no commercial or business relationship with the Super 99. Therefore, for the prosecution, there is no good reason to explain why Ricamar received funds. from Odebrecht, through Caribbean.

“The facts brought to the process show that the company Importadora Ricamar, S.A. merchant company active in our country, manipulated its commercial activity to give the funds received in its bank accounts from Odebrecht Box 2 a legitimate appearance, using the money triangulation scheme to divert attention from these illicit funds," says the prosecutor, in his appeal brief, presented on November 16, in which he insists that the responsibility of the company is duly accredited in the investigation," says prosecutor Ruth Morcillo in his appeal brief, presented to the Superior Court of Criminal Cases, on November 16.

On November 7, Judge Marquínez decided to call 36 people to trial for alleged money laundering but declared that it was not viable to open a criminal case against Importadora Ricamar, given that -according to the judge- the commission of a crime cannot be attributed. crime against a legal person.

But in her appeal brief, prosecutor Morcillo points out that in Panama there is a history of convicted legal entities. Specifically, she cited the case of the Campos de Pesé company, which was found guilty of crimes against the environment. Likewise, the prosecutor recalled that the courts have already analyzed the possible responsibility of Importadora Ricamar, by ruling on disputes and annulment incidents promoted by this company, precisely within the Odebrecht bribery process. At no time did the courts warn that this legal person was not responsible.

For the Odebrecht bribes, Judge Marquínez did issue a summons to trial for Martinelli, his two sons (Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique, imprisoned in the United States for laundering $28 million in Odebrecht bribes), former President Juan Carlos Varela, and several former ministers, on August 1-18, 2023. The alternate date was scheduled for September 27-October 17, 2023.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/corruption-prosecutor-appeals-ruling-on-super-99

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Tracking the Odebrecht bribery participants in Panama

Posted 12/01/2023

Navigating in Panabrecht is like participating in a treasure hunt: you start with someone and you have a reward, but if you follow the clues towards the next stages you discover people whose participation in the case you did not know and, through their links, you arrive to build a complete scheme of the laundering circuit,  and the magnitude of the operation set up to collect and sustain Odebrecht's millionaire bribes writes La Prensa.

You can start in the visualization at any node and you will end, a few clicks later, at its opposite. An easy example: Ricardo Martinelli, the former president who awarded Odebrecht at least 12 public infrastructure projects for at least $5 billion and with cost overruns of more than $1 billion.

Martinelli has 55 direct and 261 indirect connections in Panabrecht, through his companies and the connections of his connections. As soon as you click on his name and thus open the visualization node, he will be in the center surrounded by rays towards his immediate links: Adolfo Chichí De Obarrio, who was his private secretary and is now in the news because he bought gold bars in cash for his chief; relatives, front men and, the head of the Brazilian giant in the isthmus, André Luiz Campos Rabello.

Also, tied to him, companies, lawyers, and works granted during his management. There are, for now, 28 people, 13 companies, 9 works and two law firms one click away from the Martinelli node.

At the first stop on the treasure hunt, just one click away from Martinelli is Richeliu Investment Company Inc.

Created the same year that Odebrecht landed in Panama, 2006, Richeliu has on its board of directors the former president and his sons Ricardo Alberto and Luis Martinelli Linares, convicted in the United States for their participation in laundering bribes distributed, through the US financial system. De Obarrio not only acquired gold for Martinelli. He also did it for companies owned by him Among these companies, there are two that appear in Panabrecht and they are also linked to other corruption cases: Vigo Real Estate Inc. and, Richeliu.

The clue to Richeliu, whose ultimate beneficiary is Martinelli, leads us to Aaron Mizrachi Caribbean Holding Services Ltd. Caribbean wrote Richelieu a check for $350,000 on June 26, 2009, which was deposited the next day in a fixed term in the Global Bank.

By clicking on the node of the company in Panabrecht we can discover it: from Odebrecht, through the offshore companies it created to move dirty money: Innovation Research Engineering and Development Ltd., Klienfeld Services Ltd., Intercorp Logistic Ltd. and the Now famous Constructora Internacional del Sur, SA Panabrecht also shows it : he distributed it among companies linked to Martinelli and people around him, such as former ministers Jaime Ford Castro and José Domingo Arias, his sidekick Riccardo Francolini and who is designated as his figurehead, Ramón Carretero Napolitano.

Former president Juan Carlos Varela, also benefited from a transfer from Mizrachi. We could go on forever with the 24 connections of this company, but if we return to Richeliu we will find a new treasure: Gladden Corporation.

Gladden is another of Francolini's companies, the former president's trusted man, and was denounced in the New Business case because it would have been used in the purchase (presumably with public funds) of Editorial Panamá América, SA (Epasa) . According to records of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it was created in 1998 in the Bahamas; Francolini and his wife, Iraida García, became shareholders in October 2009.

Gladden's nexuses in Panabrecht go in two directions. : the companies and people from whom he received at least $4,738,000 in 2010. There are 17 more to those who sent at least $4,628,000 that same year, either by check or transfer .

Among the 17 agents who received these millions are the former director of the Panama Tourism Authority, Gustavo Him; the former minister Federico Pepe Suárez Cedeño and his sister Ana Isabel, and another Martinelli company: Vigo Real Estate.

Through the Vigo node in Panabrecht we can return to Martinelli and, once there: his former ministers, his children and his close friends, which branch out into hundreds of more nodes.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/tracking-the-odebrecht-bribery-participants-in-panama

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ODEBRECHT: Court rejects Mizrachi appeal

AARON MIZRACHI.

Posted 15/03/2023

The magistrates of the First Superior Court of Justice, through a ruling dated March 8, 2023, did not admit an appeal of constitutional guarantees " for reasons of form"  filed by the legal defense of Aaron Mizrachi against the Third Liquidating Court of Criminal Causes.

The legal defense of Mizrachi by the lawyer Basilio González supported in the writ of amparo that his constitutional rights had been violated when the third liquidating judge, Baloisa Marquínez, denied him the prescription of the criminal action in the preliminary hearing of the Odebrecht case.

Under the presentation of judge Melina Robinson, the Court did not admit the appeal considering that it failed to comply with the principle of " subsidiarity or finality ," provided for in numeral 2 of article 2615, of the Judicial Code, which states: Only the action of Amparo when the means and procedures provided for in the law to challenge the judicial decision in question have been exhausted.

Mizrachi is one of the 36 defendants who have been called to trial in the case of alleged bribery payments by the construction company Odebrecht in Panama for former officials and individuals.

The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office indictes the defendants for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/odebrecht-court-rejects-mizrachi-appeal

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Money laundering trial of 32 further delayed

Posted 08/05/2023

The Second Settlement Court for Criminal Cases will begin the trial of 32 people investigated for money laundering in the case known as Lava Jato on June 22-July 6  after the trial set for Monday, May 8 was suspended as one of the defense lawyers presented a medical certificate.

The second prosecutor against organized crime, Isis Soto, announced that when the time for the alternate date arrives, if a lawyer presents an excuse, then the public defenders will act.

She stated that they will present testimonial evidence, and the prosecution will present its arguments in which it will request a conviction.

On October 4, 2022, the Superior Liquidation Court revoked the provisional dismissal granted by the second liquidator of criminal cases, Baloisa Martinez, to all those investigated.

The court considered that the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime, evidence obtained in of Brazil on the activities of the Mossack Fonseca firm in the creation of companies through which allegedly illicit money would have moved.

The investigations by the prosecutor's office revealed, according to the court, that those investigated participated "with conscience and will" in the creation of joint-stock and commercial companies, "with the presumed purpose of hiding money from criminal activities."

Among the defendants in this case are Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora Ramsés Owen, María Mercedes Riaño, Katia Solano, Ricardo Samaniego, Yakeline Pérez, Franklin Taylor, Carmen Wong, Edison Teano, Carlos Sousa Lennox, among others.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/money-laundering-trial-of-32-further-delayed

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Court rejects Mizrachi appeal in Oderbrecht laundering case

Posted 08/07/2023

A ruling by the First Superior Court of Justice did not admit an amparo of constitutional guarantees presented by Aaron Ronny Mizrachi against the decision of a criminal judge to prosecute him along with 35 other people for alleged money laundering in the Odebrecht case .

The court's ruling, dated March 8 and under the presentation of magistrate Melina Robinson, did not accept the action because she considered that the appeal presented by Mizrachi's defense does not support the guarantees that Mizrachi was allegedly violated. .

Robinson's letter details that although possible violations of the provisions contained in the Constitution are alleged , article 85 of the Penal Code is also cited, so that the Court cannot enter to make a review, since it is not about of a norm of constitutional rank.

Mizrachi is a signatory and final beneficiary of the Caribbean Holding company, which -according to the investigation- was used to transfer large sums of money from bribes from Odebrecht Box 2.

In his investigative statement, Mizrachi, who is the brother-in-law of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), said that the funds were "donations" from Odebrecht to the 2009 political campaign. He gave everything to his brother-in-law's campaign and he never used the money for his personal expenses.

Also through Caribbean, Odebrecht made contributions to accounts controlled by Jaime Lasso, to support the campaign of former president Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019).

Martinelli and Varela will also be prosecuted for the Odebrecht bribes.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/court-rejects-mizrachi-appeal-in-oderbrecht-laundering-case

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Two expresidents face justice on August 1

Posted 14/07/2023

Ahead of the Odebrecht Money Laundering trial set for  August 1, The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced Thursday the designation of former President Juan Carlos Varela as "ineligible" to enter that North American country, due to his participation "in significant acts of corruption” by accepting bribes in exchange for improperly granting contracts of government when he served as president and vice president.

In the statement, Blinken stated that "during his tenure as vice president and later as president of Panama, Varela accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts."

Varela reacted three and a half hours later, stating that he will defend his honor and that of his family, and that he managed $20,000 million in works, "with transparency."

Varela was vice president in the management of Ricardo Martinelli, who is also accused by the US government of being involved in acts of "significant corruption."

Blinken stated that the designation "reaffirms" the commitment of the United States to combat "endemic corruption" in Panama.

“The Panamanian people place their trust in those who represent them. Corruption unfairly deprives the people of Panama of quality public services, such as schools, hospitals, and highways, to the detriment of their economic prospects and quality of life. If not addressed, corruption will continue to suppress Panama's prosperity, weaken its democracy, and prevent the country from achieving its full potential,” said Blinken.

“We hope that today's appointment urges elected officials and Panamanian authorities to combat entrenched corruption in the country and empower all those who uphold the rule of law. Corruption, anywhere, undermines the national security and economic health of the United States and its allies. We will continue to promote accountability for those involved in acts of significant corruption around the world,” he added.

It should be noted that officials designated under Section 7031(c), and their immediate family members, generally, are ineligible to enter the United States.

Varela is one of those called to trial for the Odebrecht case, considered the most important corruption process in recent times. With Varela, former President Martinelli is also charged, as well as his two sons and several of his ministers.

Varela appears in the case for the payments the construction company made to the presidential campaign of the Panameñista Party, during the period 2009-2014, as vice president of the Republic, and the 2014 electoral tournament, in which he was elected president.

The statements of his partner, doctor Jaime Lasso, another of those called to trial, were key in his case.

Before the prosecution, Lasso accepted having received the payments for the ex-president's campaign. According to investigations by the prosecution, Odebrecht's money reached the Panameñista Party through the Don James Foundation and through two companies: V-Tech and Poseidon Enterprises, all linked to Lasso.

During the hearing in the case, held in November 2022, Erasmo Elías Muñoz, one of Varela's lawyers, stated that his client did not receive bribes from the construction company, but rather "donations."

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/two-expresidents-face-justice-on-august-1

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Oderbrecht bribery trial starring two ex-presidents postponed

Martinelli and Varela in happier times

Posted 01/08/2023

The Odebrecht bribery, trial starring two former Panama presidents and over a score of previous high rollers has been delayed once again. It was due to start Tuesday, August 1, but. The Second Criminal Settlement Court has postponed it to its alternate date: from September 27 to October 17.

The Judicial Branch reports that the court is still analyzing the evidence presented by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the defense lawyers.

Judge Baloisa Marquínez must evaluate thousands of pages to determine if they will be admitted for trial or excluded.

It was reported that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, for example, presented 30 documentary evidence and 14 testimonials. Among them are bank reports on the movements of the accounts through which Odebrecht funds circulated; legal assistance requested from Brazil, Andorra, Switzerland, Spain, the United States, and Belize, among other jurisdictions.

The team of anti-corruption prosecutors from the Public Ministry delivered its evidence brief to the Second Liquidating Court for Criminal Cases last week.

An annulment motion presented by Carlos Carrillo, from the team of lawyers of former President, Ricardo Martinelli is also being processed. Martinelli, together with former president Juan Carlos Varela, are among the 36 called to trial for the crime against the economic order and against the national economy, in the form of money laundering. The preliminary hearing in this case was held between September 12 and 28, 2022.

Basilio González, lawyer for two defendants (former Minister of Public Works, Jaime Ford Castro, and businessman Aaron Ronny Mizrachi), said he was unaware of the prosecution's evidence brief and explained that the defense attorneys can appeal the admission of some of them.

Once the evidence is admitted by the court, the lawyers and the prosecutor's office can appeal its admission and this would be resolved by the Superior Court for Settlement of Criminal Cases.

In addition to Martinelli, Varela, Ford, and Mizrachi, those called to trial also include former ministers Demetrio Jimmy Papadimitriu, Federico Pepe Suárez, Frank De Lima, and José Domingo Arias, all from the Martinelli administration (2009-2014).

Also on the list are Carlos Dubois and the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, sons of former President Martinelli.

The Martinelli Linares brothers have already been imprisoned in New York, after confessing before a judge that they received $28 million in bribes from Odebrecht, according to them, on their father's instructions.

The United States designated former presidents Martinelli and Varela as corrupt; both are prohibited from entering that country.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/oderbrecht-bribery-trial-starring-two-ex-presidents-postponed

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Red alert for 8 Odebrecht case defendants declared in absentia

Judge Baloisa Marquínez

Posted 17/08/2023

The Second Settlement Court for Criminal Cases has declared eight defendants in absentia in the Odebrecht case, which has a trial date of September 27.

They are Danna Harrick, Liz Eelena De Souza, Juan Francisco Mutio, Javier Díaz Torres, Paulo Cesar De Miranda, Barry William, Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde and María Isabel Carmona Bernasconi.

Judge Baloisa Marquínez 's decision is published in edict No. 92 of August 16,  where it also decrees the suspension of the processing of the process and the term of the prescription of the criminal action until these eight people appear before the Court.

The group of people is accused by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor for the alleged commission of money laundering; the product of an alleged bribe payment scheme created by the construction company.

Preventive detention is ordered for Juan Francisco Mutio, Javier Díaz Torres, Paulo Cesar De Miranda, Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde, and María Isabel Carmona Bernasconi, and in view of the fact that their whereabouts are unknown nationally, as well as abroad, the judge ordered that it proceed to request the issuance of a red alert.

The document also indicates that the preventive detention order for Liz Elena De Souza, Barry William, and Danna Harrick is maintained.

The judge opened a criminal case against 36 people, however, after the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares were sworn in on August 16, as substitute deputies of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), Judge Marquínez loses the jurisdiction to judge them and they will have to be prosecuted by the magistrates of the Supreme Court.

The list of defendants includes former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela and former ministers Frank DeLima, Demetrio Papadimitriu, James Ford,Federico Pepe Suarez, Charles Duboy and Jose Domingo Arias.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/red-alert-for-8-odebrecht-case-defendants-declared-in-absentia

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Odebrecht bribes diverted to Martinelli mistresses

 Posted 06/09/2023

Audios appear where the former president Ricardo Martinelli conspired with his private secretary to benefit his four lovers when he was president, and others that show at least $691,000 in transfers to them from a company controlled by Odebrecht the Brazilian construction company reports La Prensa.

In addition to paying millionaire bribes to politicians and officials, bringing banks to their knees, and opening hundreds of companies to move dark money, the Brazilian giant Odebrecht financed the luxuries of the lovers of the former president

He contributed at least $691,000 for jewelry, works of art, and transfer payments for four women who are mentioned in the tax hearing as "close friends" of the former president between 2009 and 2014. In Drousys, the complex system where Odebrecht kept the pseudonyms of those who received bribes, they appear with a curious nickname: Periquitas.

There were four of them Linda Gesto, Periquita 1; Úrsula Banz, Periquita 2; María Sol Rivera, Parakeet 3; and, the last but apparently the most benefited, was Periquita 4: Aurora Muradas. What they received is documented in Panabrecht, the first interactive database of the Odebrecht case in Panama, built by La Prensa.

Now, the recordings of an alleged conversation in which former Martinelli and his former private secretary, Adolfo "Chichí" de Obarrio, would have intervened, reveal unknown details in the plot of the ex-president's lovers.

The digital outlet Foco Panama shared an alleged conversation on Monday, September 4: Martinelli and Obarrio apparently devise and coordinate a plan to create fictitious contracts, for the benefit of the "lovers" and thus extract millions of dollars from the contracts that the Brazilian construction company signed with the Panamanian state.

The digital outlet Foco Panama shared an alleged conversation on Monday, September 4: Martinelli and Obarrio apparently devise and coordinate a plan to create fictitious contracts, for the benefit of the "lovers" and thus extract millions of dollars from the contracts that the Brazilian construction company signed with the Panamanian state.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/odebrecht-bribes-diverted-to-martinelli-mistresses-1

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State withdraws action against Creditcorp Bank

Posted 12/09/2023

On the morning of  Monday, September 11, the Panamanian State withdrew the civil action it filed against Credicorp Bank SA , in relation to the case of the Constructora Odebrecht SA, as reported by the banking entity in a statement.

“ We reiterate that there is no lawsuit against Credicorp Bank related to this case nor are we part of any judicial process,” the note highlights.

The bank adds that, throughout history, they have acted in “strict compliance” with their obligations and “enjoyed the trust and support of clients and collaborators.”

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/state-withdraws-action-against-creditcorp-bank

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Two former presidents enmeshed in Odebrecht  bribery tsunami

Posted 21/09/2023

Described by  La Prensa as “the trial of the century” the Oderbrecht case which dates back  17 years and included $10 billion in contracts for a foreign construction company begins next week and, two former presidents could be convicted of laundering money from bribes and campaign contributions.

In Panama, there was no surprise when, in 2014, Operation Lava Jato unraveled the largest corruption network in the region. Odebrecht was an old acquaintance for organizations, journalists, and remote citizens, arrangements under the table that will be exposed in the trial.

Only on the La Prensa website, there are 2,004 articles published with the Odebrecht label from 2007 to the exact moment in which the Brazilian federal police uncovered the scheme of Brazilian companies involved in money laundering, bribery, and illicit financing of campaigns in  Latin America Latina. The first of them, dated January 21, 2007, warned regarding a contractual maneuver to guarantee its entry – replacing Pycsa – on the Panama-Colón highway “Odebrecht does not arrive in Panama with a clean record […] it has "has been accused of corruption in Brazil and Peru, and of breaching a contract in Venezuela."

The suspicions were just a sign of the tsunami that would come.

Ten years, the evidence was abundant. From cost overruns that could exceed more than $2 billion in rigged contracts , to the arrest of Marcelo Odebrecht in Brazil, to the denunciations of executives that were leaked by Panamanian media – for example, that of Luiz Antonio Mameri, who assured that there were payments to former Minister of the Presidency Demetrio “Jimmy” Papadimitriou for $4 million – or statements from financial operators, such as Rodrigo Tacla Durán, which attributed the impunity of the case in its beginnings to the friendship between then-president Juan Carlos Varela and the representative of Odebrecht in Panama, André Luiz Campos Rabello. But the control agencies did not react, despite voices from civil society demanding it, and the justice system was reluctant to investigate.

While in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador they opened processes that included former and current presidents and current presidents,  in Panama there was institutional silence, and the Brazilian steamroller continued to keep the most important works, such as line 2 of the Metro and the renovation of Colón. Odebrecht seemed more sacred than the Canal.

Impunity
So far, the company, politicians, businessmen, frontmen, and other intermediaries, as well as lawyers and banks, have managed to avoid the storm.

The only high-profile Panamanians sentenced to prison were tried outside the country, in the United States: Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli, who are also part of the local plot, like their father, Ricardo Martinelli

Panamanian justice will be put to the test starting September 27, when the trial is scheduled to begin, equivalent to the Nuremberg of corruption in Panama: two former presidents, their children, relatives and even the lover of one of them; Six former ministers, their front men, facilitators and foreign operators will be tried for money laundering from Odebrecht bribes.

Monumental evidence

The evidence against them is monumental. The file has 915,000 pages full of evidence, such as banking and corporate records, official documents with immigration movements and purchase of goods, infinite schemes of the dark money route and the statements of protected witnesses, in addition to those of the accused.

“It is the largest heist of public funds in history,” said prosecutor Mahmad Daud Hasan during the hearings in September 2022, after sharing the findings of the Public Ministry from September 18, 2015, when the investigation began, until September 12. April 2021, when he asked to prosecute 50 people .

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/two-former-presidents-enmeshed-in-odebrecht-bribery-tsunami

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Odebrecht trial suspended for second time

Baloisa Marquinez ( judge)

 Posted 26/09/2023

The long-awaited trial for Odebrecht bribery, where 36 people are accused (including former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela) of alleged money laundering, is about to be postponed, for the second time reports La Prensa.

The reason is now that the Second Liquidation Court for Criminal Cases has not presented the list of admitted evidence (and other rejected ones), adduced by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the defense lawyers.

Sources from the Public Ministry (MP) confirmed that, so far, the parties to the process have not been notified of the evidence order to be used in the trial and that, although it was issued on Tuesday afternoon, it must be complied with. with the process of notifying the prosecutor's office and all defense attorneys. Some advocates stressed that no one has been notified yet. It seems unlikely that, in a few hours, 36 defenders can be notified.

Additionally, said order could be appealed before the Superior Court for the Settlement of Criminal Cases, if any of the parties is dissatisfied with the decision adopted by criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez, on the admission or rejection of any testimonial, documentary, or expert evidence.

It is unknown when the trial could be rescheduled since Judge Marquínez's court has a full calendar. For example, the trial of the Panama Papers case is scheduled to take place from November 13 to December 4, 2023, and, as an alternative date, January 15 to February 2, 2024.

The Odebrecht trial was originally scheduled to take place from August 1 to 18, 2023. But on July 31 (that is, one day before the date scheduled to begin), the court announced its postponement, for the same reason: it was still Judge Marquínez was analyzing the evidence adduced by the prosecution and the defendants' defenders.

The trial was then scheduled for its alternate date: from September 27 to October 17.

Basilio González, Jaime Ford's lawyer; Carlos Carrillo, from the team of lawyers of former President Martinelli: Marcela Araúz, lawyer of Riccardo Francolini, and Arturo Sauri, lawyer of Dana Harrick, explained that in this scenario, the trial cannot be carried out, since it is necessary to know the evidence that was will present.

Last July, the team of prosecutors from the Public Ministry, delivered to the court several boxes with volumes of testimonials, expert evidence, and judicial assistance related to the Odebrecht case.

Last July, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office delivered to the court several boxes with volumes of testimonial and expert evidence and judicial assistance related to transactions carried out through companies linked to Odebrecht abroad. There are 14 testimonial evidence and 30 documentaries.

Former attorney general Kenia Porcell, told La Prensa, that it was a complex investigation because the evidence was not in Panama. “International collaboration was required, coupled with the resistance of many for the investigations to advance. I must say that Panamanian society, serious and responsible media, and some journalists played an important role in its advancement. It should never be forgotten that from time to time the investigations were paralyzed because the terms expired and we had to wait for the resolution of the Judicial Branch to continue. And months passed”.

HISTORIC TRIAL
For Porcell, the Odebrecht case is a historic investigation that marked new paradigms in the prosecution of crime and in the way in which organized crime acts.                                                                                                                                              “The prosecutors found that the evidence, the money, and the witnesses were outside the national territory,” she said.

“The trial will leave an indelible mark on our society. It will have a special chapter in the history of Panama, because never before has justice faced an investigation of such magnitude. Hence the importance of what is decided being in accordance with the law and that the only fear that exists is not acting that way,” she added.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/odebrecht-trial-suspended-for-second-time

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Odebrecht bribes trial will follow 2064 election

Posted 28/09/2023

The trial of former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos  Varela and 23 other high-profile performers including ex-ministers for alleged money laundering, in the  Odebrecht bribes case, will now take place after the May 2024 elections and the change of government administration.

The Second Liquidation Court of Criminal Cases (in charge of Judge Baloisa Marquínez) announced that the trial will be from July 15 to August 23, 2024. As an alternative date, the judge set the date from September 16 to October 25, 2024.

The decision was adopted by Marquínez after concluding the evaluation of all the evidence that was admitted by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the defense attorneys and the private complainant, which in this case is the Panamanian State, represented by the Ministry of Public Security.

This was stated on September 27,  the same day that the trial should have begun, but which was postponed, because the judge had not issued the order on the admission of evidence.

In the elections of May 5, 2024, Martinelli (who already has received a  10-year sentence for money laundering in the New Business case ) aspires to compete as a presidential candidate and Varela, meanwhile, wants to enter the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).

Among the evidence admitted by the judge is the sentencing agreement agreed upon by Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, sons of the former president, in the Eastern District Court of New York. In this agreement, Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique accept the sentence of three years in prison and accept having committed the crime of conspiracy to launder Odebrecht bribes, using the US financial system. Both also confessed that they acted following their father's orders.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/odebrecht-bribes-trial-will-follow-2064-election

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Court rejects constitutional ploy in Odebrecht case

Posted 02/12/2023

The First Superior Court of Justice rejected the protection of constitutional guarantees presented by the defense of the Uruguayan citizen Juan Francisco Mutio, called to trial for the alleged f money laundering through the Brazilian company Odebrecht.

Through a resolution, dated November 29, 2023, and under the presentation of Judge Miguel A. Espino, the court denied the protection that sought to revoke a decision by Judge Baloisa Marquínez who rejected an incident of annulment against the order to investigate Mutio issued by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The Court made up of judges Fernando Tatis and Janeth Torres, considered that the appeal presented by Mutio's defense did not provide a duly authenticated copy of the mixed order of November 7, 2022, by which the annulment incident was denied.

Mutio is part of the group of 35 defendants who must appear at the trial to be held from July 15 to August 23, 2024, in the Odebrecht case, in which the former Panama presidents Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) are also charged.

The Uruguayan is mentioned as part of the money laundering scheme used by Odebrecht's Caja 2 to move money through various companies.

The team of anti-corruption prosecutors, led by Ruth Morcillo and Mohamad Daud, claim to have evidence to achieve convictions.

SWISS BANK ACCOUNT 
In the Mutio case, it is linked to the company Sherkson Internacional, SA, indicating that it would have received funds from Odebrecht that it then deposited in an account in Switzerland in the name of Klienfeld Services Ltd, a company created in Antigua and Barbuda.

According to the prosecution, the accused was part of the frontmen who moved money from the Brazilian company. The first transactions were made in May 2007 when Sherkson received three deposits from Odebrecht for a total amount of $22.5 million, which he then deposited into an account in the name of Klienfeld Services Ltd.

Mutio appears alongside fellow Uruguayan Andrés Norberto Sanguinetti, brother of former president Julio María Sanguinetti, as an alleged frontman for Odebrecht in the management of funds that were distributed to various bank accounts.

Initially, this trial had been scheduled for August 1 to 18, 2023, but on July 31, one day before, its postponement was announced, because Judge Marquínez was still analyzing the evidence adduced by the prosecution and the defendants' defenders. . The trial was then left for its alternate date: from September 27 to October 17, but was finally rescheduled for 2024, just after the change of presidential administration, which will occur on July 1 of that year.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/court-rejects-constitutional-ploy-in-odebrecht-case

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Two ex-presidents will face Odebrecht bribes trial

Posted 23/02/2024

The Second Liquidation Court of Criminal Cases set the date of the trial of 32 people (including two former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela) for the bribes that the Odebrecht company distributed in Panama from November 12 to December 19, 2024.

More than 160 documentary evidence, 63 witnesses, and 20 expert reports will be used in the Odebrecht trial

Previously, the trial was scheduled to take place from July 15 to August 23, but everything changed when two defendants appeared, Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde and María Isabel Carmona, who were in absentia and were finally located, through international assistance, in Peru.

On February 2, Judge Baloisa Marquínez announced that Monteverde and Carmona would be tried starting November 12. But on February 20, she signed a resolution in which she announced that all the accused would be tried on that date and not just the two former fugitives.

Monteverde and Carmona, who reside in Peru, were notified of the trial date but did not have the opportunity to present evidence in time for the trial to be held in July.

In the resolution of February 20, Judge Marquínez notified the lawyers of all the defendants of her decision and also appointed the lawyers Fernando Peñuelas, Edgardo Buitrago, Ricardo Vial de Brandao, Rosario Granda, Carmen Tovar, Roummel Salerno and Luis Carlos Tapia as public defenders, in case any of the private lawyers do not appear at the trial.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/two-ex-presidents-will-face-odebrecht-bribes-trial-1