Panama's globe-trotting ex-president flees corruption probe
Source: Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax media)
Panama's globe-trotting ex-president flees corruption probe
TIM JOHNSON
Last updated 12:21, February 3 2015
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JET SETTER: Disgraced former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli has said he's so rich he doesn't need to steal. [/font]
Panama has long been a haven for dictators and foreign ne'er-do-wells, but now its citizens are watching the curious spectacle of their own former president trotting the globe in a private jet, perhaps looking for refuge himself.
If former President Ricardo Martinelli returns to Panama, the likelihood of his arrest on corruption charges appears to grow by the day.
Martinelli left Panama last Wednesday aboard a 15-seat Hawker jet for Guatemala, then continued for refueling stops in Florida, Canada and Ireland before landing in Bologna, Italy.
Martinelli holds both Italian and Panamanian citizenship and is a good friend of Italy's disgraced former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. The two share legal troubles over corruption allegations that involve Italian companies. In Martinelli's case, the issues involve alleged kickbacks over the purchase of radars, helicopters and electronic mapping systems.
As Martinelli traveled, a criminal investigation into his 2009-14 government was tightening on those closest to him. On Sunday, Panama asked Interpol to put out a red alert for Martinelli's former private secretary, who is thought to be in the United States, on charges of embezzlement and corruption.
Read more: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/65716728/panamas-globetrotting-expresident-flees-corruption-probe