Bail upped for failed brokerage suspects

A Panama court has increased the bail for seven suspects under investigation for alleged financial crimes and money laundering and irregularities in the management of investment accounts in the extinct brokerage  Financial Pacific (FP).

Roberto Enrique De La Espriella, Jesus Veleiro Carballeda, and Gumersindo Garcia had their bail increased the bail upped from $ 50,000 to $100,000 and Teresa Sánchez de Abood, Carlos Javier Osorio Wald, Joshua AbsalomChávez and Mariel Rodríguez Espino the court had their bail raised from $100,000  to $200,000 each

De La Espriella and Carballeda are linked by the prosecution because they were partners in the firm Veleiro, Mihalitsianos & De La Espriella (VM & E), which deposited almost half a million dollars in the High Spirit account -managed by FP and reportedly used  by ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, – without justifying the origin of the money.

Garcia is implicated since as director/president of High Spirit he made the transfer of money. While Sánchez de Abood and Rodríguez Espino are identified in the process because as FP compliance officers they allegedly omitted their duties and did not report to the Superintendence of the Securities Market (SMV) the irregular closure of the High Spirit  account;

Absalón Chávez and Osorio Wald are linked for having been part of the management team of FP.