Panama Ex-President Martinelli is sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering

By KATHIA MARTÍNEZ
Associated Press

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. Martinelli, 71, had been trying to mount a political comeback in next year’s general elections, but a judge sentenced him Tuesday to 128 months in prison in a case that revolved around the purchase of a publishing company. The supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014 was elected by his party last month as its presidential candidate for the May 5 election. The case, known locally as “New Business,” dates back to 2017 and concerns the 2010 purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers.