Imputed by case Odebrecht will pay more than 1 million dollars in Panama

A court in Panama validated an agreement between the Office of the Prosecutor and an accused in the Odebrecht case, who will pay more than $ 1 million thanks to a penalty agreement and the commutation of 42 months of imprisonment for a fine, informed today Judicial Organ.

Panama, Nov 20 (EFE) .- A court in Panama validated an agreement between the Office of the Prosecutor and an accused in the Odebrecht case, who will pay more than $ 1 million thanks to a penalty agreement and the commutation of 42 months in prison for a fine, reported Judicial Branch today.

The hearing was held last Friday at the Twelfth Criminal Court of Panama, which validated the approval of the agreement number 6 of September 22, 2017 between the special anti-corruption prosecutor, Zuleika Moore, and the technical defense of the accused, whose identity was not revealed.

"The collaborator provided information of great importance to the investigation, accepted his criminal responsibility and in turn detailed that through a corporation in his name received millions of dollars from the AEON GROUP INC., which was controlled by the so-called box 2 of Odebrecht, used for the payment of bribes to Panamanian public officials, between they former Minister of Public Works Jaime Ford, who received $ 2 million. "

This was indicated on Monday by a statement from the Judicial Branch, which added that the hearing of Validation was conducted in a reserved manner in order to guarantee the protection of the collaborator.

The penalty imposed by the Court on the accused was 42 months in prison, disqualification for exercise public functions for the same period "and the return to the Panamanian State" of 1 million dollars payable within 6 months to the National Treasury, of which it has already deposited $ 350,000.

But the defense asked for the replacement of the prison sentence for days of fine, which was not objected by the MP, "being in 250 days of fine at the rate of 64 dollars each one, which makes a total of $ 16,000, which must be paid to the National Treasury within a year, and if it is not fulfilled, it must enter a prison, "the information indicated. judicial.

On November 15, the Judicial Branch informed that a hearing would be held to validate the statements of one involved in the Odebrecht case, scheduled the following day, it had been postponed to a new date and would be held for security reasons behind closed doors and not publicly, as originally announced.

The Twelfth Criminal Court of Panama, headed by magistrate �?scar Carrasquilla, also validated an effective collaboration agreement between the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and Odebrecht on 9 November, which includes the payment of a fine of 220 million in a term of 12 years and the file of the case in Panama against the company and its former directors in this country for having collaborated.

Carrasquilla validated In addition, the testimonies of Andre Rabello, who led the Odebrecht operations in Panama for several years, and of two financial operators of the firm, Olivio Rodrigues Junior and Luiz Eduardo da Rocha Soares, and filed the cases against her for money laundering, among other crimes.

At that hearing, the prosecutor revealed that Rabello confessed to having paid more than 80 million euros. dollars to Panamanian officials and individuals, of them about 55.8 million dollars to two children of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014).

Rabello, in a videoconference from the Panamanian consulate in Sao Paulo, ratified the data offered by the Panamanian Prosecutor's Office, in which he pointed to the former ministers of Martinelli -Frank De Lima, Demetrio Papadimitriu and Jaime Ford- of illegally receiving money from the construction company.

Also to José Domingo Arias (former presidential candidate), who according to Rabello received 10 million dollars for his campaign for the presidency, in 2014.

For the case of Odebrecht bribes, 63 people are processed in Panama, including Martinelli's two sons, on there is a search and seizure order.

Odebrecht, which arrived in Panama in 2006 and has 8,000 workers in the country, is the main contractor of the Panamanian State and It currently executes works for more than 3,000 million dollars, according to official data.