Panama’s ex-president sentenced to 10 years for money laundering
1 year, 5 months ago

Panama’s ex-president sentenced to 10 years for money laundering

Al Jazeera  

Former President Ricardo Martinelli denies wrongdoing in the case, which involves the purchase of a Panamanian media conglomerate. Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, a development that could impact next year’s general election. Last month, Martinelli became the first official candidate to run in Panama’s 2024 elections, after being selected to represent Realizando Metas, a party he founded two years ago. Martinelli has been barred from leaving Panama due to the legal proceedings, and two of his sons previously served prison sentences in the United States for their involvement in money laundering schemes. On Thursday, the US also barred former President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez from entering the country due to his role in “significant corruption” while in office.

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History of this topic

Ex-Honduran president sentenced to 45 years in U.S. prison for helping drug traffickers
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Ex-Honduran president sentenced to 45 years in U.S. prison for helping drug traffickers

LA Times  

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, second from right, is taken in handcuffs to a waiting aircraft as he is extradited to the United States at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in April 2022. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced Wednesday in New York for his conviction on charges that he enabled drug traffickers to use …

Panama court rules leading candidate Mulino may remain in presidential race
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Panama court rules leading candidate Mulino may remain in presidential race

Al Jazeera  

The decision removes uncertainty over Mulino’s eligibility just two days before the vote in the Central American country. Panama’s Supreme Court has ruled that frontrunner Jose Raul Mulino is eligible to run in the Central American country’s presidential election. The ruling on Friday came just two days before the vote and ends uncertainty that has loomed over Mulino’s campaign since …

Panama’s leading presidential candidate is a late entry promising a return to better times
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Panama’s leading presidential candidate is a late entry promising a return to better times

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — The leading candidate to be Panama’s next president is a last-minute stand-in who promises to return the Central American country to a boom time that experts say will be difficult to recapture. José Raúl Mulino, a maritime lawyer and former security minister, was thrust to the top of the presidential ticket after Panama’s electoral authorities ruled former …

Panama’s leading presidential candidate is a late entry promising a return to better times
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Panama’s leading presidential candidate is a late entry promising a return to better times

LA Times  

The presidential candidate of Achieving Goals, José Raúl Mulino, addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Panama City on Sunday. José Raúl Mulino, a maritime lawyer and former security minister, was thrust to the top of the presidential ticket after Panama’s electoral authorities ruled former President Ricardo Martinelli ineligible following his money laundering conviction and sentencing. Mulino has campaigned with …

Panama’s presidential frontrunner skips third and final debate ahead of May 5 election
8 months, 1 week ago

Panama’s presidential frontrunner skips third and final debate ahead of May 5 election

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — Six of the eight candidates vying to be Panama’s next president laid out their plans to generate jobs and to manage the country’s water crisis in their final debate Wednesday night before the country’s May 5 election. Former government minister José Raúl Mulino, who has led in opinion polls since taking over the top place on his …

Panama demands Nicaragua rein in former President Ricardo Martinelli
9 months ago

Panama demands Nicaragua rein in former President Ricardo Martinelli

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — Panama on Monday accused Nicaragua of meddling in its internal affairs by allowing former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli to continue taking swipes at the justice system and promoting his political allies from within the walls of the Nicaraguan embassy. Panama’s Foreign Relations Ministry said Monday in a statement that it had sent Nicaragua a “vigorous” protest and …

Former president of Honduras convicted in U.S. of aiding drug traffickers
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Former president of Honduras convicted in U.S. of aiding drug traffickers

LA Times  

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández had acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted Friday in New York of charges that he conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons …

Panama blocks ex-President Martinelli from election
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Panama blocks ex-President Martinelli from election

Al Jazeera  

Panama’s Electoral Tribunal has annulled the candidacy of former President Ricardo Martinelli in the presidential election set for May. A millionaire businessman when he became president, Martinelli has been investigated for multiple corruption scandals since leaving office. He faces a separate trial, scheduled for after the May 5 elections, over alleged bribery payments during his presidency from Brazilian construction giant …

Panama’s judiciary orders arrest of ex-president holed up in Nicaragua’s embassy
10 months ago

Panama’s judiciary orders arrest of ex-president holed up in Nicaragua’s embassy

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — Panamanian authorities on Thursday ordered the arrest of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who has been holed up in the Nicaraguan Embassy since receiving political asylum from that country earlier this month. A judge approved a requested change of Martinelli’s conditional release that had stood while he appealed his 10-year sentence for a money laundering conviction, the federal …

Panama ex-President Ricardo Martinelli receives political asylum from Nicaragua
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Panama ex-President Ricardo Martinelli receives political asylum from Nicaragua

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — Panama’s former President Ricardo Martinelli has received political asylum from Nicaragua days after Panama’s Supreme Court denied his appeal over a money laundering conviction that carried a 10-year sentence. Martinelli’s attorney Shirley Castañeda said outside the Nicaraguan embassy Wednesday that “his political asylum had already been granted.” Asked why Martinelli had requested asylum, she said “because his …

Panama’s Ricardo Martinelli vows to run for presidency despite recent money-laundering conviction
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Panama’s Ricardo Martinelli vows to run for presidency despite recent money-laundering conviction

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY, Panama — A former president convicted of money laundering defiantly proclaimed his intention Saturday to run in Panama’s upcoming presidential election despite facing a possible ban on seeking office. Ricardo Martinelli was officially presented as the candidate of the Realizing Goals Party at a rally in Panama City where his supporters waved blue and white flags and chanted …

El Salvadoran ex-President Mauricio Funes sentenced to six years for tax evasion
1 year, 5 months ago

El Salvadoran ex-President Mauricio Funes sentenced to six years for tax evasion

The Hindu  

An El Salvador court on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, sentenced former President Mauricio Funes to six years in prison for tax evasion, the second time in barely more than a month that a court has sentenced the ex-leader in absentia. In late May, another tribunal sentenced Funes to 14 years in prison for negotiating with the country's powerful street gangs …

Money laundering trial ends for former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli
1 year, 6 months ago

Money laundering trial ends for former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — The trial of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and 14 others for alleged money laundering related to their purchase of a publishing company concluded on Friday, starting the clock on the 30 days the judge has to issue a verdict. The case, known locally as “New Business,” dates back to 2017 and concerns the 2010 purchase of …

Money laundering trial against former Panama President Martinelli and others begins
1 year, 7 months ago

Money laundering trial against former Panama President Martinelli and others begins

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli was among some 20 people who went to trial Tuesday on money laundering charges as he tries to mount a political comeback ahead of next year’s national elections. The case, known locally as “New Business,” dates back to 2017 and concerns the purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers. Prosecutors …

Sons of Panamanian ex-president released from US prison
1 year, 11 months ago

Sons of Panamanian ex-president released from US prison

Al Jazeera  

The two brothers are expected to return to Panama on Wednesday, where they and their father face corruption charges. Two sons of Panama’s ex-President Ricardo Martinelli are expected to return to the country after completing prison sentences in the United States for their involvement in an international corruption scandal. Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares are slated to …

Another son of Panama’s ex-president pleads guilty to corruption
3 years ago

Another son of Panama’s ex-president pleads guilty to corruption

Al Jazeera  

Ricardo Alberto Martinelli was extradited to the US last week from Guatemala in a case involving the Brazil-based company Odebrecht. A second son of Panama’s former president, Ricardo Martinelli, has pleaded guilty to laundering $28m in connection with an enormous bribery scheme involving the Brazilian construction firm, Odebrecht SA. Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 42, entered his plea in federal court in …

Son of Panama’s ex-president pleads guilty in US corruption case
3 years ago

Son of Panama’s ex-president pleads guilty in US corruption case

Al Jazeera  

The son of Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli has pleaded guilty to money laundering as part of a massive corruption scheme involving Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht, United States prosecutors said. Luis Enrique Martinelli admitted to conspiring with his brother Ricardo to establish offshore bank accounts “to receive and disguise over $28m in bribe proceeds”, the US Department of Justice said …

Son of ex-Panama president extradited to US from Guatemala
3 years, 1 month ago

Son of ex-Panama president extradited to US from Guatemala

Al Jazeera  

The extradition is the latest tied to $788m in bribes Latin American construction giant Odebrecht admitted to paying. Guatemala has extradited a son of former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli to the United States, where he and his brother face bribery and money laundering charges linked to Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. Former President Martinelli has spent the past few years embroiled …

Panama’s ex-president gets second acquittal in phone-tapping case
3 years, 1 month ago

Panama’s ex-president gets second acquittal in phone-tapping case

Al Jazeera  

Ricardo Martinelli was accused of wiretapping more than 150 people, including politicians and journalists. Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has been acquitted on charges he tapped the phones of political opponents and journalists when he was in power. He was also accused of embezzling public funds to spy on his opponents when he led the country, and the prosecution accused …

Sons of ex-Panama president held in Guatemala on US charges
4 years, 5 months ago

Sons of ex-Panama president held in Guatemala on US charges

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — Two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli will be held in jail in Guatemala pending hearings Friday, officials said Tuesday as the U.S. government seeks their extradition for their alleged role in a bribery and money laundering scheme. A criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in New York alleging the brothers facilitated $28 million in bribes from …

Ex-Panama president’s sons charged with bribery, money laundering
4 years, 5 months ago

Ex-Panama president’s sons charged with bribery, money laundering

Al Jazeera  

US prosecutors charge two sons of former President Ricardo Martinelli after they were arrested in Guatemala on Monday. US prosecutors have charged two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli in connection with bribery and money laundering linked to Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, according to a federal complaint unsealed on Monday. Luis Enrique Martinelli, 38, and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 40, …

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