Bank embezzlement 9th case against Martinelli
A new embezzlement investigation against ex-President Ricardo Martinelli brings the total charges he is facing to 9.
The latest is for embezzlement in a loan granted by the Caja de Ahorros (CA) for the construction of the Amador Convention Center.
Martinelli who is self-exiled in Miami describes all the corruption indictments against him as “political persecution”
Judge Cecilio Cedalise, is prosecutor for the case admitted by the Supreme Court. The Judge of Guarantees is Jerónimo Mejía.
The file reached the Supreme Court on December 1.
The businessman and ex-vice-president Felipe ‘Pipo’ Virzi, who managed the loan, said that part of the money was given to Martinelli to cover a debt in the Financial Pacific (FP). Brokerage reports La Estrella.
Martinelli who has been in Miami for two years, already faces an extradition request.
He is investigated and tried by the Supreme Court because his position as deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) which he once labeled a den of thieves.
The bank’s board of directors for the five-year period 2009-2014, when Martinelli ruled, was chaired by Ricardo Francolini.
He and the former manager, Jayson Pastor and deputy manger Rodrigo Arosemena Pino, are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 27, The three are being held at the El Renacer Prison.
The former president is being investigated for extortion of Impregilo, for the irregularities in the purchase of dehydrated food in the defunct National Assistance Program (PAN), for telephone espionage, the purchase of grain at inflated prices from the PAN, for alleged manipulation of the stock market with the Petaquilla mining company, using Financial Pacific accounts, the presumed collection of fines in Cobranzas del Istmo SA, for granting 353 pardons before leaving power and for stripping residents of Bahía Honda, Veraguas of their lands.
The wiretapping case is the most advanced and The Court has requested the extradition of Martinelli to face the proceedings.
Martinelli fled the country in 2015 to settle in the US as an investor.
He has claimed via Twitter that all the proceedings against him have been fabricated.
