36 called to trial in Odebrecht case

The third criminal judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, Baloisa Marquínez, has summoned 36  to trial for money laundering in the Odebrecht case.

The court set the trial date from August 1 to 18, 2023, and as an alternate date from September 27 to October 17, 2023

For the last date, the judge appointed alternate public defenders to guarantee the right of defense, in the event that the private l defenders do not appear.

The judge provisionally dismissed 11 people and definitively 1 citizen for the crime of money laundering, and she ordered the lifting of the personal and real precautionary measures that had been imposed on some of the defendants.

 Importadora Ricamar owned by former president Ricardo Martinelli was left out of the case. The Public Ministry had requested a summons to trial for the crime of money laundering of this corporation, but the judge declared it non-viable.

The Court also denied 3 incidents of nullity due to lack of jurisdiction; 1 incident of nullity due to violation of the specialty principle; 6 incidents of prescription of criminal activity; 3 incidents of annulment due to violation of the principle of double jeopardy; 3 incidents of constitutional nullity; 1 incident of nullity due to infraction of the natural judge; 1 dispute incident; 1 incident of prior and special pronouncement and 1 incident of nullity due to lack of notification.