Martinelli sons in Miami deny money laundering

 WITH AN INTERPOL red alert hanging over their heads, the two sons of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli  have rushed to deny receiving bribes from  Odebrecht.

The brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Martinelli Linares,issued a statement from Miami Thursday, Feb 16  in which they denied any wrongdoing in the case involving bribes from  the Brazilian construction company.

The brothers said that the company Promotora y Desarrollo los Andes S.A., which was allegedly used to receive the bribes, was never used for commercial or banking purposes.

In the document, the pair  said that their father gave them the rights to 75 percent of the shares issued by the company, which was handled by Evelyn Vargas, who served as his legal adviser.

Vargas also faces charges in the case. They went on to claim that they later waived the rights to the shares.

The brothers deny that their uncle, Mario Martinelli, Vargas or Riccardo Francolini are related to the bank accounts being investigated.

The statement was made before Maria G. Manfredini, a public notary in Florida.

The Consulate General of Panama in Miami, Adela De Rey, certified that the signature of Manfredini was authentic, on Feb. 8.

On Feb. 14, Interpol accepted Panama’s request to issue an international red alert to locate the Martinelli brothers, as well as Vargas, after a request from  the Public Prosecutor’s Office

The brothers are being investigated by the office for money laundering.

They also face charges filed by Swiss prosecutors for bribery and money laundering. Swiss officials have frozen accounts containing $22 million.

Martinelli’s sons fled Panama as corruption investigations were opened in an unrelated case. Their father  is in self imposed exile in Miami faces  a  dozen charges in Panama that if proven guilty could put him in jail for over 40 years. They include  embezzlement,  corruption and wiretapping of political opponents, journalists and judges.