Odebrecht hearing– Judge dismisses nine appeals on first day

Judge Baloisa Marquínez dismissed nine appeals – mostly from lawyers representing former president Ricardo Martinelli – that sought to suspend the preliminary hearing in the Odebrecht case on Monday, September 12 during the first day of the act.

After resolving these incidents, the hearing continued with the reading of the prosecutor’s file which contains the arguments of the prosecution to request a trial of 49 people and a company for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering. Tuesday’s hearing will likely be devoted to the continuation of reading by the prosecution of the nearly 900-page document.

The document highlights that in Panama corrupt payments were made to government officials and intermediaries who worked for them, among other things, public works contracts and establishes, for example, the payments made through the structural operations department for the benefit of two close relatives of a high-ranking Panamanian government official in order to ensure their participation and payment of the company in contracts with the State.