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With a 306-page sentence, the Panamanian court sentenced the former Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, to more than 10 years for buying in 2010, with state money, the majority of the shares of Editora Panama America.
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The judge in the case, Baloísa Marquínez, also sentenced four other people with sentences of five to eight years in prison, while 10 other defendants were acquitted. According to the indictment, the purchase of the publisher was made through a complex partnership scheme where various companies deposited a total of $43.9 million.
“We all know that they want to convict me for political interests, I am innocent, all my money contributed is legal and it was proven, I have no relationship with illegal money, what they want is to disqualify me,” Martinelli replied on his party’s Twitter account. Realizing Goals (right).
“They don’t want me to be your president (but) I will continue fighting for you and your family until I become president of Panama again,” added Martinelli, who aspires to return to power in 2024. The former president’s message is replicated by his followers , who also consider that everything is a “political persecution” to prevent him from running for president.
For his part, prosecutor Emeldo M.Arquez, stated that “The commission of a punishable conduct in the crime of money laundering has been proven.” However, Martinelli’s defense announced that it will appeal the ruling.
“We hope that this will be corrected in the second instance, we will exhaust all legal resources,” Carlos Carrillo, one of the former president’s lawyers, declared at a press conference.
Martinelli, owner of a supermarket chain, won the 2009 elections with a speech against corruption, although at the end of his term more than a dozen of his ministers were arrested for various scandals.
And although Martinelli has another trial next August for the alleged laundering of bribes paid by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, he leads several electoral polls and has already carried out the bureaucratic procedures to register his electoral candidacy at the head of the Realizing Goals party.
with AFP
