Martinelli's wife facing criminal probe
Marta Linares de Martinelli, wife of Panama’s former president, Ricardo Martinelli is the latest member of the Martinell family to face criminal investigation after failing with three ploys to dodge an inquiry into the Blue Apple scandal.
Her husband is in El Renacer prison awaiting trial for illegal wiretapping of at least 150 victims, while her two sons – Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares- are on bail of $1 million each in Miami, while awaiting a hearing to decide on their extradition to Panama to face multiple corruption charges, following their arrest after an Interpol red alert. Her brother-in-law Mario Martinelli is also facing several investigations.
A Panama Court has given a green light to an order of inquiry of the former first lady, within the Blue Apple money laundering investigation for the alleged payment of bribes by contractors of the State to former government officials after it declared unproven an incident of controversy presented by her defense
The office of the public prosecutor handling the Blue Apple case , has already been notified of the decision of the court, which considered that the decision ordering the investigation is duly motivated.
Her sons,are also implicated in the case.
She was summoned to respond for the Lemar foundation, which allegedly received unjustified payments from state contractors.
Last September, she went to the prosecutor’s office, but he accepted article 25 of the Constitution so as not to file a statement . The article says: ” No one is obliged to declare in a criminal, correctional or police matter, against himself, his spouse or his relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity . ” Then she presented a medical disability crtificate and the controversial incident that has now been resolved in favor of the prosecution.
Linares de Martinelli has said that she has been the legal representative of the foundation since 2016 and that the facts investigated date back to 2012. But, at that time she was listed as treasurer of the foundation.