The preliminary hearing for former President Ricardo Martinelli for alleged money laundering through the purchase of the Panama America publisher (Epasa) by the  New Business company, scheduled for Monday, October 31, was suspended after his legal team presented an incident of nullity. The appeal is being transferred to the Public Ministry.

The Third Criminal Cases Liquidator Court, in charge of Judge Baloísa Marquínez, rescheduled the hearing of the former president for November 29, 2022, which was the alternative date already established.

“In this process, an alternate public defender was appointed in order to guarantee the right to defense, in the event that the private technical defender does not appear,” the press release highlights.

The investigation began in 2017 when the Public Ministry revealed that the purchase of Epasa was managed through a basket company called New Business and that the money contributed came from contracts awarded to various companies for the alleged execution of public infrastructure works.