The Supreme Court of Panama rejected a last-ditch appeal by former president Riccardo Martinelli, who was seeking a return to power by running in May's elections, to overturn his sentence to serve almost eleven years in prison for money laundering, in a decision that saw the light of day yesterday friday
This appeal to the country's top judicial institution was the last chance for the former head of state, 71, to avoid prison.
The former president (2009-2014) and candidate in May's election was sentenced in July to serve 128 months (ten years and six months) in prison and pay a fine of more than $19 million for money laundering.
The first instance decision was confirmed by the appeals court in October.
The right-wing politician was convicted in his 2010 trial of buying with public money the majority of shares in the media group Editora Panamá América, which owns the newspaper of the same name and the popular newspapers CrÃtica and DÃa a DÃa.
The media conglomerate's majority stake was acquired through a labyrinthine network of anonymous companies, into whose accounts $43.9 million was opaquely deposited, originating from bribes received by Riccardo Martinelli in exchange for public works contracts.
Mr. Martinelli is also expected to stand trial in July for his alleged involvement in the much-vaunted Brazilian construction company Odebrecht scandal, which has swept presidents and other politicians across Latin America. This company, which has now changed its name, had distributed tens of millions in bribes in the region to secure public works contracts.
The 71-year-old wealthy businessman, who in particular owns a chain of supermarkets, was declared the winner in July 2023 in the intra-party process of his faction for the nomination of its candidate in the upcoming elections. According to several opinion polls, he was the most dominant among the 10 contenders for the highest office.
Source: News Beast
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