Son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares has signed a contract in the US with a graft fee
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, extradited to the US after being arrested in Guatemala in 2020
New York:
The son of former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli was found guilty by a Brooklyn court on Saturday of conspiring to launder tens of millions of dollars in bribes.
The defendant, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, was extradited to the United States after being arrested in Guatemala in 2020 at the request of Washington. His arrangement is virtual due to pandemic-era measures.
His lawyer said Ricardo Alberto signed a plea agreement and is expected to formally plead guilty during a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
The judge declared him at risk of flying and ruled he would be detained at least until after that hearing.
The US lawsuit against Martinelli and his brother Luis Enrique is linked to a broader investigation into the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
Prosecutors say the brothers allowed millions of dollars to be paid into secret bank accounts under the guise of ghost companies.
Luis Enrique was extradited to the US last month and pleaded guilty in US Eastern District Court to conspiring with his brother to launder more than $28 million in bribes from Odebrecht “for the benefit of his relatives, a senior official in Panama.” from 2009 to 2014.
Federal prosecutors used similar language in detailing the Ricardo Alberto case.
The Odebrecht investigations have shaken many leaders and political parties in Latin America. The company’s former bosses admitted in court to illegally distributing millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for public contracts.
Former president Martinelli himself is under investigation in the Odebrecht scandal, but has announced his intention to run for re-election in 2024.
In 2016, Odebrecht and its petrochemical affiliate Braskem agreed to pay $3.5 billion in fines after pleading guilty in Eastern District court.
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