Money laundering suspect playing cat and mouse
A BUSINESSMAN under investigation for money laundering linked to a disgraced and jailed former Supreme Court judge appears to be playing cat and mouse with Panama’s organized crime prosecutor, as he continues to stall questioning over his role.
Although Nicolas Corcione has stepped aside temporarily as a board member of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and said in a letter to the board president that he would cooperate with prosecutors investigating him, he has not yet made himself available for questioning.
Roberto Moreno, Corcione’s lawyer, who is also an ACP board member, reiterated Friday, August 21 that his client should not be investigated under the rules of the adversarial criminal justice system given his status as a director, and should instead be investigated by the Supreme Court.
Moreno said he is waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the matter.
But Prosecutor Nahaniel Murgas said that the decision by Corcione to voluntarily excuse himself from the board means that he can be investigated under normal procedures and he plans to summon Corcione in the coming days.
In a letter excusing himself from the board, Corcione pledged to cooperate with the investigation to clear his name as quickly as possible. He has been linked to allegations of money laundering as part of the investigation into financial irregularities of Moncada Luna
The trap has been set, it is only awaiting the arrival of the mouse.
