Another former Panamanian minister arrested in graft probe
Ahora que esta Blatter de moda cuando todo los haciamos juntos en este #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/KBgPGQwAUe
— Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) June 4, 2015
PANAMA CITY – A former Panamanian government official was arrested Thursday night over suspected corruption, the latest ex-minister to be nabbed in a widening graft probe into the administration of ex-President Ricardo Martinelli.
Former Agriculture Minister Óscar Osorio was arrested after a lengthy interrogation over the award of a public contract to an Ecuadoran company, for which onetime Vice President Felipe Virzi was arrested Wednesday.
Anti-corruption prosecutors ordered Virzi’s arrest after probing the awarding of an irrigation system contract and alleging he received a $5 million payment.
Attorneys for Osorio and Virzi told journalists their clients were innocent.
Numerous close associates of Martinelli have been swept up in an anti-corruption probe that may be zeroing in on the former president who held office from 2009 to 2014.
A former economy minister was arrested Monday, while an ex-social development minister was jailed March 4.
President Juan Carlos Varela estimates the corruption under Martinelli at some $100 million.
Martinelli, 63, who has left the country, says the investigation is politically motivated.
On his Twitter account Friday, Martinelli called the charges “political persecution.”
Otro claro ejemplo de persecuciôn política es inventarle casos a todos los ministros y ahora a Alma Cortez. Por eso el pais está paralizado,
— Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) June 5, 2015
The ex-president is under investigation by Panama’s Supreme Court in a case involving multi-million-dollar cost overruns in food contracts for the country’s public schools.
You may be interested

The compromises Costa Rica made with the IMF
The Tico Times - March 2, 2021Costa Rica will receive a three-year, $1.78 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund as part of the financial entity’s…

Costa Rica extends tourist visas until June 2
Alejandro Zúñiga - March 2, 2021The Immigration Administration (DGME) announced late Monday night that tourists who entered the country before December 1, 2020, can have their visas…

IMF approves $1.8 billion loan for Costa Rica
The Tico Times - March 1, 2021The IMF approved a 36-month credit agreement for $1.778 billion dollars with Costa Rica, the entity reported Monday, which immediately…