Supreme Court denies Martinelli’s Blue Apple appeal

The plenary session of the Supreme Court did not accept an appeal of constitutional guarantees presented by the defense of Ricardo Martinelli against a decision of the Third Liquidating Court that did not admit a series of evidence within the process for alleged money laundering through the Blue Apple Society.

Under the presentation of magistrate Cecilio Cedalise, the Court did not admit the protection of guarantees presented by the lawyer Luis Eduardo Camacho González.

Camacho González filed the appeal against the evidence order admitted by the second judge for criminal cases, Baloisa Marquinez, and that will be debated in the trial to be held on July 10.

Previously, in January of this year, the First Court of Justice also rejected Camacho González’s protection of guarantees against the decision taken by Judge Marquínez.

On November 16, 2021, Judge Baloisa Marquínez decided to call two defendants to trial for the crime against public administration, in the form of server corruption; 11 people for the illegal association, while 26 investigated must answer for the crime against the economic order in the form of money laundering.

This investigation, which consists of 352 Volumes, began on October 30, 2017, and is related to an alleged corruption network made up of officials, businessmen, and lawyers, who allegedly requested commissions from contractors for the award of bids with the State.

JAILED SECRETARY 
For this reason, on March 13, Judge Marquinez sentenced Adolfo Chichi De Obarrio, former private secretary of former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli to 120 months in prison.

De Obarrio’s trial was held separately from the rest of the defendants for being a fugitive from justice, so in his case a procedural rupture was issued and the case progressed more quickly.

In this process, in addition to the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, there are also Joaquín Rodríguez, former manager of Factor Global Inc, Federico Barrios, legal representative of Blue Apple, the former Ministers of Public Works, Jaime Ford and Federico Suárez, among others.

During the investigation opened in 2017, the prosecution recovered $33 million. The patrimonial damage caused to the State was estimated at $78.3 million.