The two sons of the former president of Panama Ricardo Martinelli, Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto, were released this Wednesday after serving the sentence imposed on them by the US court for receiving bribes from the Brazilian multinational construction company Odebrecht.
After their release, Luis Enrique and Ricardo Martinelli will be “transferred to the ICE offices”, the US immigration service, from where they will be “deported” to Panama because they do not have legal status in the United States.
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“We confirm that Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares were released from the custody of the Prisons Office (…) for good conduct,” the judicial body confirmed this Wednesday.
If they do not object, their deportation should happen quickly
“If they do not object, their deportation should take place quickly,” said sources added. Consulted by AFP, the lawyers declined to provide any information.
After pleading guilty in December 2021 to the US Attorney’s indictments, the two brothers were sentenced last May to three years in prison and to pay a fine of 250,000 dollars for receiving 28 million dollars in bribes from Odebrecht, of which 19 million passed through accounts located in North America.
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The time they had been detained first in Guatemala and then in the United States until the court ruling was made known was deducted from the sentence set.
At the hearing in which the ruling was announced, the brothers’ lawyers blamed former President Martinelli (2009-2014) for having induced them to commit the crimes.
They will face jail in Panama
Upon his return to Panama, they will be arrested againafter a court recently rejected their lawyer’s requests to “suspend the arrest warrant” against them, as reported by the Judicial Branch recently.
Both are charged in Panama, along with their father, for alleged money laundering in a corruption scheme set up by Odebrecht -which included different Latin American countries- and for another scandal known as “Blue Apple”, a scheme to collect commissions to expedite contracts during the Martinelli government.
Despite the accusation, Ricardo Martinelli Sr. has the Intent to run for president again in the 2024 elections.
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On January 3, the lawyer for the Martinelli brothers, Carlos Carrillo, declared that the sons of the ex-president had paid 14 million dollars in bail to avoid their arrest upon arrival in Panama.
According to Carrillo, the defendants each posted bonds of two million dollars for the Odebrecht case and five million for the “Blue Apple” case.
Foiled escape attempt
The two brothers fled the United States on June 25, 2020 on a boat to the Bahamas, where they boarded a private plane to travel to Panama.
However, since that last country was blocked from entering due to the covid-19 pandemic, they ended up in El Salvador, from where they crossed overland to Guatemala. In this country they were arrested on July 6, 2020when they intended to travel on a private flight to their country.
“They were afraid” and “badly advised,” the lawyers said to explain their flight from the United States when they were negotiating an agreement with the judicial authorities.
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Luis Enrique Martinelli was extradited to the United States on November 15, 2021. His brother then arrived on December 10.
american justice accused them of using the banks of this country to commit their fraud “selfish and greedy”. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Martinellis invested 9.5 million dollars of the amount they received from Odebrecht in a cell phone service company in Panama, as well as in stocks and bonds.
Likewise, Luis Enrique Martinelli bought a yacht for 1.7 million dollars and a condominium in Miami for 1.3 million, while his brother paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of expenses on his credit card.
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On December 21, 2016, Odebrecht pleaded guilty before the same Brooklyn court that convicted the Martinellis of having distributed more than $788 million in bribes to government officials.
The bribes were delivered to various public officials and political parties, basically in Latin America, mainly to obtain and retain infrastructure works.
AFP
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