Bribery frontman in Martinelli era, stays behind bars

The Eleventh Criminal  ha rejected two appeals  presented  by the lawyer Mauricio Cort , investigated – in two separate cases – for alleged money laundering, related to bribery  through State contracts: of the construction of the Vía Brasil corridor , by Spanish  FCC , and the rehabilitation of Casco Viejo  , by the Brazilian company  Odebrecht

In both cases, Judge Nixela Aizprúa denied the claims of Cort’s defense, which alleges that the prosecution had exceeded the term of the investigation.

Judge Aizprúa considered that the prosecution complied with the legal terms to request the declaration of complex cause in both investigations

According to the investigations, Cort served as an intermediary between Panamanian contractors and officials in the administration of former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), who would have received money for the allocation of mult-million dollar public works contracts.

Section II of the Vía Brasil corridor was assigned to FCC for an amount of $174.5 million, but in the end, cost $216 million.

In Casco Viejo , the cost of the works reached $255.4 million and, according to the investigation of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office , had a surcharge of $51.4 million.

In November 2019, Judge Aizprúa granted Cort a bail of $5 million, which he has not yet recorded. He remains detained preventively.

Cort is also named  in an investigation in  the Spanish National Court against FCC. credited with having acted as the head of senior government officials to facilitate the delivery of bribes.