2 new defendants join ex-presidents in Odebrecht money probe

The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has ordered the investigation of two new people linked to the   Odebrecht bribery investigation

While orders to appear have already been issued, no names were revealed on Friday morning, September 18.

The investigation involving at least $90 million in bribes began in Panama in 2015 but was interrupted the following year when Odebrecht signed an admission agreement with the United States Department of Justice.

Then the process had several delays due to the international judicial assistance requested by the

Prosecutor’s Office and due to the legal stalling moves by the accused. The deadline for the prosecution’s investigation to conclude is in October.

The Brazilian construction company obtained multi-billion contracts in the governments of Martín Torrijos (2004-2009), Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019).

Only Varela and Martinelli are charged in the case.