Moises Castillo/ AP

Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, pictured here in Guatemala last month, pleaded guilty to a money laundering
charge brought by U.S. prosecutors.

– Ricardo Alberto Martinelli admitted to setting up offshore accounts to direct money to a relative who was a government official in Panama

By Richard Vanderford / WSJ

LONDON
Petroleumworld 12 15 2021

Another son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli pleaded guilty to a U.S. charge related to his role in a bribery scheme involving Brazil’s Odebrecht SA.

Ricardo Alberto Martinelli on Tuesday entered a guilty plea to a single money laundering conspiracy charge at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was charged in 2020 alongside his brother Luis Enrique Martinelli, who pleaded guilty earlier this month.

“I agreed with other people, including my brother Luis, to wire funds that were the proceeds of bribes paid by Odebrecht to a family member of mine who was a government official in Panama,” Mr. Martinelli said.

He also admitted to setting up offshore accounts as part of the scheme to direct money from Odebrecht, a construction conglomerate, to his relative. Mr. Martinelli has agreed to forfeit $18.9 million to the U.S. government.

About $28 million flowed through the sons, according to prosecutors, who described the bribe recipient as a high-level Panamanian official who served from 2009 to 2014. Their father was president of Panama during those years.

As part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors Tuesday, Mr. Martinelli has agreed not to appeal a sentence of up to 151 months in prison, though his lawyers are free to argue for a shorter period of incarceration.

Sean Hecker, Mr. Martinelli’s lawyer, said he intends to argue that his client, who had spent about 17 months in jail in Guatemala before his extradition to the U.S., shouldn’t be incarcerated any longer. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 13. Luis Martinelli’s sentencing hearing has been set for May 20.

The two brothers are expected to remain in U.S. custody ahead of their sentencing. Mr. Martinelli, after admitting his guilt Tuesday, lost a bid for bail. A prosecutor argued that he poses a flight risk.

Prosecutors have described an extraordinary effort by the Martinelli brothers last year to leave Miami, where they had lived, to travel to the Bahamas by boat and then on to Guatemala by private jet. That departure from the U.S. came as the men were discussing a resolution with the U.S. Justice Department.

Restrictions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted their plans to travel to Panama, according to prosecutors. The two were arrested by Guatemalan authorities and after a court battle were extradited to the U.S.

“This is somebody who planned an escape, to put it bluntly,” U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie said. “I’m going to have to turn you down.”

The case against Odebrecht arose from Brazil’s so-called Operation Car Wash, a sweeping probe that exposed widespread corruption among Latin America’s corporate and political leadership.

Prosecutors said that Odebrecht maintained an effective “department of bribery” that made more than $700 million in payments to officials around the world. Odebrecht in 2016 entered into settlements with authorities in the U.S., Brazil and Switzerland, and last year changed its name to Novonor.

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By Richard Vanderford from The Wall Street Journal – WSJ

wsj.com  12 15 2021

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