Two former presidents have been implicated in an investigation in Panama
Former Panamanian presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela were accused of receiving bribes by Ottbrecht’s group.
Former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela on February 25, 2019.
AFP
Two of Panama’s former presidents, Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, were indicted Friday during preliminary hearings in a mega-anti-corruption investigation that began this week in the nation’s capital.
The pair, who succeeded each other at the helm of Panama between 2009 and 2014, did not appear for trial. They are accused of accepting bribes from Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht. The multinational company has admitted to the US Department of Justice that it distributed millions of dollars to award public works contracts in Panama.
Leading companies
In addition to Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, around fifty people, including several former ministers, have been implicated in the investigation. In 2016, the Odebrecht group admitted to a Brooklyn (USA) court that it distributed more than $788 million in bribes throughout Latin America, including $59 million to Panama alone.
The Brazilian group has notably been awarded two metro lines in Panama City, an expansion of the capital’s international airport and several areas of the city’s waterfront.
Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) was the first of two former heads of state to be impeached on Friday. Between 2008 and 2014, when he was president of the right-wing party “Panamiste” and vice-president of the country, he was charged with receiving payments from Odebrecht through shell companies and bank accounts abroad.
“Illegal Structure”
According to these allegations, Juan Carlos Varela’s party received 10 million dollars from Odebrecht, and the bank accounts to which the money was sent were specifically intended to send money to the party’s leader. According to prosecutors, Juan Carlos Varela received money from Ottbrecht during his presidency, which the accused disputed.
Former President Riccardo Martinelli (2009-2014), a particularly successful businessman who owned a chain of supermarkets, was accused of illegally receiving money from Odebrecht. Riccardo Martinelli was “fully aware of the illegal origin of the funds” and set up a “whole illegal structure” to collect the bribes, according to the indictment read at Friday’s hearing.
Two of Ricardo Martinelli’s sons, who are being held in the United States after being extradited from Guatemala, where they were arrested, have pleaded guilty to taking $28 million from a Brazilian construction group for their part.
AFP
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