Panama: Judge opens case against 35 people for money laundering in Odebrecht case

Judge Baloisa Marquínez decided to open criminal proceedings in Panama against 35 people charged with the crime against the economic order and ordered to call to trial one for the crime against the national economy, in the modality of money laundering, in the case of the alleged payment of bribes for the awarding of public works to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, informed today the Panamanian Judiciary.

The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) released in a statement the information on the decision of the third judge liquidator of criminal cases of the first judicial circuit of Panama but did not give names of the persons related to the alleged crime.

At the beginning of the preliminary hearing of this case last September 12, a total of 49 defendants had been linked to the process, considering the probable payment of more than US$50 million for the favoring in the bids to the construction company, among them the former Panamanian presidents Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), and several former ministers, among others, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

According to the CSJ, the judge also dismissed 11 people, and one citizen, for the crime of money laundering.

At the same time, she ordered the lifting of the personal preventive measures ordered for some of the defendants and ordered to declare not viable the call to trial requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to a corporation for the crime of money laundering.

The court also denied three incidents of nullity for lack of jurisdiction, one incident of nullity for violation of the principle of specialty, six incidents of prescription of the criminal action, three incidents of nullity for breach of the principle of double jeopardy, three incidents of constitutional nullity and one incident of nullity for violation of the natural judge.

In addition, it denied one motion for controversy, one for prior and special pronouncement, and one for nullity due to lack of notification.

It declared the lack of subject matter of a request for a precautionary measure of an impediment to leaving the country.

The court set a plenary hearing date from August 1 to August 18, 2023, and an alternate date from September 27 to October 17, 2023.

For the latter, Marquinez appointed alternate public defenders to guarantee the right of defense if the private technical defense attorneys do not appear.

The public hearing of this case was held from September 12 to 28 and was transmitted through the YouTube account of the Judicial Branch to guarantee the principle of publicity and access to information, the CSJ also highlighted in the official bulletin.

With information from Xinhua

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