Ministry of Foreign Affairs the United States of America He recently imposed sanctions on former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who served from 2009 to 2014, accusing him of “massive corruption”.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the move, noting that the former president had “received bribes in exchange for contracts improperly awarded” while in office.
These actions “undermine the integrity of Panama’s democratic institutions,” Blinken said.
The sanctions, described in the statement, were extended to their “close relatives” and they were not allowed to enter US territory.
Martinelli is one of 36 people on trial in Panama last November for money laundering in a bribery case against Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, the largest corruption case in the country’s history.
You can read: Former President Martinelli believes the extradition process will fail
Former President Martinelli’s sons, Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique, were released last Tuesday after serving a total of $28 million in U.S. prison sentences for involvement in “bribes by and under the direction of Odebrecht.”
Panamanian media had predicted that the Martinelli brothers would arrive in Panama on Wednesday evening. Together with his father, he now has to answer for the Panamanian justice at the hearings in the Odebrecht case.
The investigation into this Panama case was opened in 2015, filed, reopened in 2017 — after the company admitted paying millions of dollars in bribes in a dozen countries in the United States — and closed in October 2018.
In July 2017, Odebrecht signed an agreement with Panamanian prosecutors to pay the state a $220 million fine over 12 years, which was not honored.
In addition to cases in Panama for alleged money laundering, the former president of Spain is also under investigation for alleged bribery, which Spanish construction company FCC admitted it paid in Panama, and another suspected espionage charge. Spain.
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
