Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli was sentenced Tuesday 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 to 128 months in prison in a case that revolved around the purchase of a media 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.
FORMER PRESIDENT OF PANAMA ARRESTED IN FLORIDA
In closing statements at trial in June, prosecutor Emeldo Márquez had requested the maximum sentence for Martinelli, which would have been 12 years.
The judge also fined Martinelli $19 million
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