Defendant in fraud case claims government interference

Defendant in fraud case claims government interference
A suspect in an alleged financial fraud case who made claims of a secret account held by President Ricardo Martinelli said Tuesday July 9 that the country has a government that "does what it pleases."

Mayte Pellegrini, who is charged with alleged financial fraud at the brokerage firm Financial Pacific where she worked, has alleged that the government has interfered in her criminal case "But I have the truth on my side," said Pellegrini, She added that the Panamanian people "are not deaf and dumb" and that the truth in her case will eventually come out, reports La Prensa.

While she said that the government has charged her in the case, her relatives have also been placed under house arrest or other precautionary measures, including her mother and stepfather.
She also said that she and her family have been threatened on numerous occasions.
Pellegrini said that she was isolated in prison and that authorities did not want her to have contact with any of the other inmates.
Pellegrini, while being questioned about the fraud at the firm, told prosecutors that President Ricardo Martinelli had a secret account at the firm that he used to trade the stock of a mining company that operates in Panama and which received a number of favorable decisions from the government.
She said that the media has done more with her allegations that prosecutors, and that she will continue to tell her story because "I'm not only fighting for me, but for the truth as well."