Ricardo Martinelli was convicted of money laundering in Panama and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Panama’s government has approved a safe passing for former President Ricardo Mati Nelly to go to Nicaragua after facing prison for money laundering.
Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Akaba Vasquez announced on Thursday that Martinelli could leave, referring to the concern about the former president’s health.
Martinelli was previously exiled by Nicaragua and avoided arrest by avoiding shelter at the Panama City Embassy.
Foreign Minister Panama refused to comment on the health problems faced by Martinelli.
Martinez-archa vasquez said, “In view of the fact that the timeline of Justice does not always match the timeline of health, the Foreign Ministry has decided to admit the exile given by the Martinelli Berrocal by the Nicaraguan government.
“This asylum is recognized and safe behavior is strictly granted for humanitarian reasons.”
The 73 -year -old Martinelli was sentenced to all appeals after being sentenced to imprisonment for 2023 to 10 years. He was also fined $ 190 million in the case.
This guilty ruling ended Martinelli’s political career. Last year, the Panama Election Court ruled that that year could not run in the presidential competition.
Panama’s Constitution prohibits people who have been sentenced to criminal sentence for more than five years after their elected jobs. But before the ruling, Martinelli was considered a leader in the race.
Martinelli has always maintained his innocence. The prosecution, however, claimed that he had invested money in the organization of “new business” after using his influence as a president from 2009 to 2014.
The prosecution insisted that the company was a front. And they said they used Martinelli Guy to buy a publishing project to control the national newspaper.
The “New Business” scandal was one of the controversies that Marti Nelly faced after leaving the office.
He and his two sons, Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares, were also involved in Odebrecht scandal, an international corruption case that brought leaders from several Latin America countries.
Former supermarket entrepreneurs and popular right -wing figures, Martinelli, have been in the Nicaragua Embassy since February 2024 and communicated with supporters using social media.
Panama refused to leave the country until Thursday. But in the announcement that Panama’s Foreign Minister could now leave, Mati Nelli expressed concern about being intercepted by the police.
“They should be conspired with the alpha troops from the national police outside the Nicaragua Embassy,” he wrote on Thursday Social Media Platform X.
Martinelli must leave until midnight on March 31.
