19 facing corruption probes sheltered by electoral law

At least 19   people investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) in high profile cases of alleged acts of corruption have sought the protection of Panama’s quaint electoral penal jurisdiction, to delay their indictments while running for office.

Seven of the people are linked to bribes from the Odebrecht construction company.

Among them are former ministers Jaime Ford, Federico Suárez and Frank De Lima, and the brothers

Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares. The other 11 people with electoral criminal jurisdiction are related to the cases of the firm Mossack Fonseca (2), communal meetings (5), operation “El Gallero” (3) and anomalies in the Mayor of Donoso in Colón (1) reports La Prensa.

The ex-judge of the Electoral Tribunal, Guillermo Márquez Amado explained that the figure of the electoral criminal jurisdiction sought to prevent the rulers from persecuting the opposition on the pretext of criminal investigations. “But, unfortunately, what we have seen more and more frequently, is that people closely linked to crime are running for popular election, and seeking the protection of that electoral criminal jurisdiction that was to protect the innocent from persecution.”