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Panama Charges 17 People Linked to Odebrecht Bribe Case


A sign of the Odebrecht Brazilian construction conglomerate is seen at their headquarters in Lima, Peru, Jan. 5, 2017.
A sign of the Odebrecht Brazilian construction conglomerate is seen at their headquarters in Lima, Peru, Jan. 5, 2017.

Panama prosecutors said on Tuesday they had charged 17 people, including several businessmen and former government officials, with money laundering as part of the case of millions of dollars worth of bribes paid by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht S.A.

Attorney General Kenia Porcell declined to name the accused, but local media reported they included three former officials from the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, who is currently living in the United States and is being investigated separately for corruption at home.

Brazil's Odebrecht, which became one of the most important government contractors under Martinelli, verbally agreed this month to pay $59 million in payments for bribes it paid in Panama to win business between 2010 in 2014.

The sum is the amount in bribes Odebrecht admitted paying to officials and intermediaries there in a plea agreement disclosed in December in a U.S. court.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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