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Caribbean & Central America - October 2015 (ISSN 1741-4458)

PANAMA: Martinelli defiant as corruption charges pile up

Two new corruption investigations into former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) were approved by the supreme court on 23 September. One relates to an investigation launched by the Panamanian stock market regulator into whether Martinelli engaged in insider trading; the other relates to a pre-existing case, which alleges that a company contracted by Martinelli’s government was accepting bribes. In response to the latest allegations Martinelli tweeted that the supreme court had been pressured into “falsely accusing me”.

Three other corruption investigations have already been approved. One centers on allegations that Martinelli approved multi-million dollar purchases of dried food at inflated prices as part of a government welfare programme. Another focuses on Martinelli’s decision to order illegal wiretaps on 150 people, including politicians and businessmen. The third alleges that he used the presidential office to issue more 350 illegal pardons to friends and allies towards the end of his tenure.

Other potential legal headaches loom elsewhere. In Italy, Martinelli has been cited as a participant in a corruption scheme involving Panamanian contracts when a judge sentenced a man for attempting to blackmail Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi (1994-1995, 2001-2006, 2008-2011). Investigators in Brazil examining the foreign projects of Odebrecht, the construction company, are also looking into its dealings with Martinelli over the Panama City subway.

In an interview with Bloomberg published on 17 September, the billionaire supermarket tycoon argued that all the cases against him were purely political, given that his immense wealth predated his political career and therefore he had no need to pilfer from the state. The former president has a net worth of US$1.1bn, with his top assets being a chain of supermarkets.

  • Vendetta?

In the interview with Bloomberg, Martinelli, who has been in the US since January, said that his former Vice President and current President Juan Carlos Varela is engaging in a “political vendetta”, motivated by anger that the former president raised taxes on the rich – a “cardinal sin” in Panamanian politics, according to Martinelli.

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