Panama’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected the appeal of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who was convicted of money laundering in the media company case, likely keeping him out of this year’s presidential race.
The court confirmed Martinelli’s 10-year prison sentence handed down last year and ruled that he is ineligible to run in Panama’s presidential election on May 5. Article 180 of the country’s constitution states that no person may be sentenced to more than five years in prison for a crime. Can be elected president or vice president.
The 71-year-old businessman and supermarket magnate, who ruled Panama from 2009 to 2014, was selected by his party as its presidential candidate last June. He was one of eight candidates running for president.
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Neither the Panama Electoral Court nor the Supreme Court immediately responded to questions about when Martinelli would be formally barred from the election.
If he is arrested, Martinelli’s running mate, José Raul Mulino, will become the party’s presidential candidate.
Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli speaks to reporters near his home in Panama City on August 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Batista, File)
Martinelli was convicted last July of money laundering in a case dating back to 2017 related to the 2010 takeover of a publishing company that owned a national newspaper.
Prosecutors said companies that won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli’s presidency funneled money to front companies that were used to buy publishers. The transaction involved a complex series of overseas transfers, amounting to up to $43 million. Front companies that collected money were called “new businesses.”
Martinelli was sentenced to 128 months in prison and a $19 million fine. He denied any wrongdoing and claimed to be the victim of political persecution. The Court of Appeals confirmed his sentence in October.
Martinelli, a populist who at one point oversaw major infrastructure projects in the country, including the construction of the capital’s first subway, is Panama’s first former president to be convicted.
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Last year, the U.S. government banned Martinelli and his immediate family from entering the country, accusing them of engaging in “serious” corruption.
