Vacationing bribery suspect denied bail

A Lawyer who numbers the fugitive sons of ex-president  Ricardo Martinelli among his clients. and who fled Panama last year, has been denied bail.

The Second Criminal Superior Court rejected an application for a bond not to be detained,   submitted by Mauricio Cort who is one of 62 people under investigation by the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor over bribes paid by the Odebrecht construction company.

In a January 31 ruling, the Court  denied the request for bail filed by Cort, due to: “your resistance to appear before the judicial process and not attend the order of inquiry issued in your name”

In a  report opposing bail, the prosecution described Cort as a prominent figure in the Odebrecht case who received funds in each of his accounts that he has not been able to justify.

The Court noted that the fact that Cort left the country on July 1, 2017, on a questionable  “vacation trip” and to date has not returned to Panama.

And  pointed out that the crime attributed to the accused is serious and that, in the event of possible charges of money laundering, ” may be  trying to evade justice”