Swiss accuse Martinelli sons seize $22 million

THE BOOT finally appears to have dropped for the Ricardo Martinelli family as Swiss Federal prosecutors have formally accused the two children of former President Ricardo Martinelli of bribery of foreign officials and money laundering.

The prosecutors have seized $22 million in Swiss banks.

What remains uncertain is if, and when,  Panama authorities will take action, as Martinelli and his sons have  fled the country and Panama’s Attorney General has been aware of the seizure for almost a year.

The Swiss prosectors suspect that according to evidence obtained from bank transactions collected for about a year, that the money was paid  by Odebrecht to the sons  Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares as bribes for infrastructure works awarded to the company by the Panamanian State.

The money arrived at Swiss bank accounts opened in the name of  two corporations whose final beneficiaries were the Martinelli Linares brothers reports La Prensa.

According to them they declared to three Swiss banks in the opening forms.

Both companies also have accounts in Switzerland – jointly or individually – opened under five other offshore companies,  about which details have not  yet beengiven.

Switzerland explained in a letter sent to Panama Attorney General prosecutor Kenia Porcell on February 24, 2016 – that the $22 million dollars were

seized and that in case Panama claims the money, “it would have to request its seizure by means of a request for judicial assistance directed to

Switzerland “and if you also want to claim the delivery of bank documents seized in Switzerland, you would have to do the same.”

Almost a year after the letter arrived in Panama, it is unknown whether the Public Ministry (MP) of Panama has requested – as suggested by the Swiss prosecutors – the seizure of thes money and the documents in the case.

Public Ministry  sources told La Prensa,  that the money has already been taken care of by the Swiss authorities, but they preferred to keep silence on whether Panama has  requested its seizure.