Martinelli facing money laundering probe in Spain

The National Court of Spain ordered the inclusion of former President Ricardo Martinelli in the investigations carried out in Madrid for the crimes of money laundering and corruption in international transactions.

IT was announced Tuesday, that Martinelli will be considered “under investigation” in the criminal case against the Spanish construction company FCC for the payment of bribes in the works contracted during his administration.

The court considered it appropriate to continue the criminal case for the crimes committed at least partially in Spain and to have Martinelli investigated.

In October 2020, Fibgar filed a complaint against Martinelli to be included and investigated in the process being followed by the National Court against the multinational Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) and some workers and former directors of its subsidiaries FCC Construcción Centroamérica and Construcciones Hospitalarias, the latter contractor of the much-questioned project of the Hospital City.

The indictment of said that former FCC directors had confessed to having prepared documents that served “ as formal cover for the outflow of funds from the company to Mauricio Cort, as the frontman of former President Ricardo Martinelli, for the payment of commissions demanded by him. to allow FCC to operate in Panama ”.

Unlike Cort, Martinelli had not been investigated or charged in Spain. At that time there were 14 defendants and the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor’s office had determined that “ all of them would have participated, in a consortium with the multinational Odebrecht, generating cost overruns in steel supply contracts worth more than [$96.7 million, in the construction projects of the Metro lines and the City of Health, among others ”.

In Panama, the Public Ministry investigates the alleged commission of the crimes of embezzlement, corruption, and money laundering in five state projects: Health City the construction of the Metro, the reorganization of the Vía Brasil road, the widening of Domingo Díaz avenue and renovation of  Casco Viejo

In only one of those five projects investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors cost overruns of more than $40 million have been detected.