Panama judge calls two ex-presidents to trial in Odebrecht probe

A Panama judge on Tuesday called two former presidents, as well as a slate of other high-profile figures, to trial over money-laundering related to the Odebrecht bribery probe, a sweeping corruption investigation which has rippled across Latin America. The country's state attorney's office said in a tweet that a judge had summoned 36 people to trial over money-laundering charges, including six former ministers, former officials, businessmen and other individuals.

A Panama judge on Tuesday called two former presidents, as well as a slate of other high-profile figures, to trial over money-laundering related to the Odebrecht bribery probe, a sweeping corruption investigation which has rippled across Latin America.

The country's state attorney's office said in a tweet that a judge had summoned 36 people to trial over money-laundering charges, including six former ministers, former officials, businessmen and other individuals. Ricardo Martinelli, Panama's president from 2009 to 2014, has been summoned along with his sons Ricardo and Luis, who in May were sentenced to three years in prison by a U.S. court for helping launder millions of dollars in bribe payments made by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.

The judge also summoned Martinelli's successor and vice president, Juan Carlos Varela, who served as president until 2019. Varela and Martinelli were banned from leaving Panama in 2020 while investigations against them were being carried out. Varela was being investigated for allegedly accepting Odebrecht donations through his political party, and Martinelli for allegedly diverting public funds during his term to buy a media outlet, as well as being imputed in the Odebrecht case.

Both have denied committing crimes. Martinelli plans to run for the presidency again in 2024. Varela said in a statement posted to Twitter that he would "face this unjust process, convinced of my innocence and with the conviction I stand before a well-defined political strategy."

Martinelli has not publicly commented on the summons. The trial would begin in August next year. Odebrecht and its parent company, Braskem, Brazil's largest petrochemicals company, in 2016 had agreed to pay $3.5 billion to settle bribery-related charges brought by U.S., Brazilian and Swiss regulators.

The scandal over bribes for public works contracts spread to other countries where Odebrecht did business, including Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.