MARTINELLI CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION STARTS MONDAY

A MOTION filed by the lawyers of Former President Ricardo Martinelli lawyers to block criminal charges against him by claiming his immunity was still in place has been rejected by the Supreme Court and the his criminal investigation for offenses against public administration will formally start Monday, May 4.

The judges of the Supreme Court announced the decision after a meeting Thursday. April 29 chaired by Judge Luis Ramón Fábrega. Justices Oydén Ortega and Jerome Mejia are empowered to act as the prosecutors.
On April 23, the Tribunal Electoral (TE) suspended Martinelli’s immunity that he had as leader of the Democratic Change (CD) party.
The charges stem from allegations made by former National Assistance Program (PAN) Director Giacomo Tamburrelli, who also faces criminal charges.
He claimed that Martinelli ordered him to grant a no-bid contract to Lerkshore International for $44.5 million to provide dehydrated food to schools. An audit found the value of the food was closer to $15 million.
Also facing charges are former Comptroller Gioconda Torres de Bianchini, Martinelli’s former private secretary Adolfo “Chichi” De Obarrio, ministers Lucy Molinar (Education) and Federico José Suárez (Public Works), deputy ministers María Fábrega (Presidency) and Marta de Varela (Social Development), the legal representative of Lerkshore Rubén De Ycaza and former PAN Nutrition Director Angel Famiglietti.
In the resolution adopted by the court Friday, May 1 it rejected a motion filed by Martinelli’s lawyers that his immunity was still in place due to some internal electoral maneuvering within the CD Party, reports La Prensa.
The complaint against Martinelli is being handled directly by the court due to his membership in the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).
The announcement came on the same day that files against former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe were passed to the public prosecutor.