PANAMA CITY – US prosecutors charged two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli in connection with bribery and money laundering related to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, according to a federal complaint that was not closed on Monday.
Luis Enrique Martinelli, 38, and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 40, were arrested earlier that day in Guatemala City when they were trying to get on a plane to Panama, and face extradition to the United States, Guatemalan police said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Martinelli family did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
But the family said in a statement after the arrest that it was trying to ensure the children received legal assistance in Guatemala and could move the legal process to Panama.
Odebrecht has become the center of a far-reaching Latin American corruption scandal in 2014, in which the company paid more than $ 700 million in bribes to government officials in various countries.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that Martinelli’s sons were accused of brokering payments of about $ 28 million from Odebrecht to high-ranking Panamanian officials between 2009 and 2014, the period in which their fathers were in office.
The criminal complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on June 27, described the brothers as “close relatives” of the official, without giving further details.
The complaint also alleged that the couple was managing a secret bank account under the name of a shell company to facilitate payment of bribes, with many transactions carried out through US banks.
Former President Martinelli and his successor, Juan Carlos Varela, were banned last week from leaving Panama while being investigated for money laundering in a separate corruption case.
