In a ruling, Justice Hernán De León said that the Superintendency is not an entity that can send a complaint to the court. De León was appointed to the court by Martinelli in 2012. He issued his decision Monday September 7

The Superintendency had asked the court to investigate Martinelli for irregularities in four accounts, High Spirit, Jal Offshore, Distribuidora Comar and Ricardo Martinelli. The former president allegedly used them to trade shares of the Canadian mining firm Petaquilla, whose share price was impacted by decisions made by Martinelli.

De León was assigned the case July 1 and took two months to rule, an action that generated criticism among different sectors of civil society reports La Prensa

In his decision, the judge concluded that, as submitted, the report by the superintendency is a "copy of an administrative file."

He cited article 487 of the criminal procedure code that states such administrative acts are not within the competency of the court.

"The provision determines with clarity that the Supreme Court is not involved in criminal cases of certain agencies, which includes the Superintendency of Securities," said De León.

This decision, he said, does not mean that "I am dismissing the facts related to Ricardo Martinelli."