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Three years in prison for children of former president of Panama. for laundering millions in bribes from Odebrecht
A judge sentenced on Friday the children of the former president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, three years in prison for having laundered millions of dollars in bribes paid by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
El Judge Raymond Dearie, of the Eastern District Court of New York, sentenced Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares after both said that the Panamanian people suffered from violence. because of their actions and also that they take full responsibility for their actions.
The prosecution had requested a minimum of nine years for the children of the former president while they asked to be released. Since both have already been in prison for 23 months, they could be released in less than a year for good behavior.
Dearie sentenced them to prison. after the United States accused them of conspiring to launder approximately 28 million dollars that it paid Odebrecht in bribes to a high-ranking officialin Panama that he is a close relative of the defendants, but has not been identified by prosecutors. According to US authorities, the brothers served as “intermediaries” between Odebrecht and the Panamanian official to benefit the latter with the bribes.
The high-ranking official in Panama It was from 2009 to 2014, according to the prosecution. Ricardo Martinelli was president of Panama. in the same period. His administration was characterized by by rapid economic growth clouded by allegations of corruption. The lawyers of the Martinelli Linares brothers on Friday identified the official as the former president.
The Martinelli Linares brothers, extradited from Guatemala last year, claimed that they should be They were released because they have already served two years in prison and are collaborating with the US authorities.