150 corruption questions for ex-bank boss
THE FORMER chairman of the board of the state-owned Caja de Ahorros (CA) Riccardo Francolini will move from his cell to a hot seat in the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office on Thursday, Apr. 28 to answer 150 questions during continuation of the interrogation that began last Friday.
Francolini, is also facing charges in other corruption and Ricardo-Martinelli related cases, but this one is about the alleged payment of bribes to Panamanian officials and individuals by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht through Swiss banks.
He is currently being held in the white collar El Renacer Prison on charges linked to a $9 million loan that CA granted to the consortium PCContratasP&V for the construction of a never completed convention center in Amador.
Reports say that the prosecution has 150 questions, for Francolini, which are related to the alleged participation of the company Promotora y Desarrollo Los Andes, S.A. in the investigation into bribes paid by Odebrecht.
Also involved in the case are the brothers Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares sons of former President Martinelli. They are also connected to Promotora y Desarrollo Los Andes.
Prosecutors have charged 14 other people, including Mario Martinelli Berrocal, the former president’s brother who, unlike his brother and nephews, has not fled Panama and is keeping a watchful eye on the family Super 99 chain and on Francolini’s long day on the hot seat where there’s no double your money if the answer’s right.
