As the Odebrecht trial in Panama enters its final stage, the defense teams of former ministers Demetrio “Jimmy” Papadimitriu and Frank De Lima have requested that their clients be acquitted, while challenging the evidence presented by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Both former officials served in the administration of Ricardo Martinelli between 2009 and 2014.
During closing arguments on February 26, attorney Arturo Sauri, who represents Papadimitriu, argued that prosecutors failed to prove his client’s involvement in money laundering. According to the defense, Papadimitriu did not participate in business or contractual operations with Odebrecht while serving as Minister of the Presidency from 2009 to 2012.
The defense detailed that the corporate entities connected to Odebrecht were directed by the former minister’s late parents, Diamantis Papadimitriu alongside María Bagatelas de Papadimitriu. Sauri indicated that these businesses participated in the lawful trade of sand. Furthermore, he dismissed the assertion that Papadimitriu held executive control concerning Line 1 of the Panama Metro, maintaining that accountability belonged to the Metro Secretariat.
The attorney also maintained that Papadimitriu had previously been investigated for facts that, according to the defense, overlap with those examined in the Odebrecht case. The request based on protection against double prosecution is connected to an investigation launched in 2015 into alleged unjustified enrichment, which ultimately resulted in a final dismissal. However, the Supreme Court had previously rejected an appeal based on similar arguments and determined that the former minister should stand trial before Judge Baloisa Marquínez.
In Frank De Lima’s case, his attorney, Antonio Quan, also requested an acquittal, arguing that there is no concrete evidence showing that his client received illicit funds. The defense particularly challenged the statements made by José Luis Saiz Villanueva and Olmedo Méndez Tribaldos, who told prosecutors that they had allegedly acted as front men for the former minister.
Prosecutors claim that De Lima funneled unlawful capital from Andorra into Panama utilizing Herzone Overseas Limited, Ralfim Limited, and Inversiones Joluma. Moreover, André Rabello, who formerly represented Odebrecht in Panama, stated under oath that he had reached an arrangement with both De Lima and Saiz regarding financial disbursements connected to contracts granted to the Brazilian engineering firm.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Saiz reached an agreement with prosecutors and admitted to receiving bribes that were allegedly intended for De Lima. Méndez, meanwhile, made allegations against the former minister and acknowledged that he had signed blank documents based on the trust he placed in him.
De Lima’s defense responded that the statements made by the two men do not prove that the money was actually delivered to the former minister. Quan also pointed out that Saiz is listed as the beneficial owner of the funds transferred by Odebrecht to Herzone, rather than De Lima. He further questioned why Méndez had been summoned as a witness in the proceedings but failed to appear and testify.
The trial forms part of the wider legal proceeding concerning bribes that Odebrecht admitted to handing out in Panama to politicians, state officers, and straw men to secure public works contracts. The arguments put forward by the defense lawyers embody the claims of the defendants and are to be evaluated by the tribunal together with the proof introduced throughout the hearings.
Source: La Prensa Panamá — https://www.prensa.com/judiciales/papadimitriu-culpa-a-sus-padres-y-de-lima-niega-vinculos-con-testaferros-en-juicio-odebrecht/
