Odebrecht Trial Begins “I Am Innocent” says Martinelli to the Panamanian Justice System:  More than 20 Former Officials Charged

With former president Ricardo Martinelli connected via Zoom from Colombia, where he remains in asylum, the trial for the Odebrecht case finally began this Monday, January 12.  The hearing marks the formal start of a case involving more than 20 high-profile former officials and which had been suspended at least six times.  Martinelli, who governed Panama between 2009 and 2014, is participating as a defendant in a case investigating the systematic payment of bribes by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht since 2007.  According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the company paid more than $80 million to officials and private individuals to secure multi-million dollar public works contracts during different administrations. 

Along with the former president, several of his former collaborators also appeared virtually, including former Minister of the Presidency Demetrio Papadimitriu and former Minister of Housing José Domingo Arias, as well as other former ministers, former deputies and high-ranking state officials who are part of the case file.  Those summoned to trial include Jaime Ford and Federico José Suárez, both former Ministers of Public Works; Frank De Lima, former Minister of Economy; Carlos Duboy, former Secretary of Goals; Danna Harrick, former Director of Conades; and former Congressman Jorge Alberto Rosas. 

The case uncovers a corruption scheme that allegedly allowed Odebrecht to win some of the country’s largest projects, such as the Coastal Strip section II, the Bay Sanitation, the Madden-Colón highway, the urban renewal of Curundú, the renovation of Colón, and lines 1 and 2 of the Panama Metro.  In Curundú, for example, the Prosecutor’s Office maintains that invoices were inflated and materials were reported as imported at high prices, when in reality they were purchased locally at a lower cost.  The process has been marked by constant delays, medical certificates, legal appeals and a lack of international documentation, especially from Brazil. 

Even days before the start, Papadimitriu filed a constitutional protection appeal alleging double jeopardy, but the Judicial Branch maintained the date and Judge Baloisa Marquínez began the hearing.  Prosecutor Ruth Morcillo leads the Public Ministry team, accompanied by prosecutors Jenisbeth Malek and Thalia Palacios, in a trial that many consider crucial to determine whether Panama will make progress in the fight against impunity or whether the Odebrecht case will once again be trapped in delays and legal strategies.