Panamanian Bribe Broker Pleads Guilty in Odebrecht Scam

BROOKLYN, NY – The grim halls of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn echoed with a guilty plea today. Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares (Luis Martinelli Linares), a Panamanian intermediary, stood before United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie, admitting his role in a colossal bribery and money laundering scheme that implicated global construction powerhouse Odebrecht S.A.

The massive conspiracy involved paying over $700 million in bribes to officials across Panama and other nations, with the goal of securing business for the Brazilian conglomerate. Odebrecht itself pleaded guilty on December 21, 2016, to charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Luis Martinelli Linares confessed to setting up offshore bank accounts through shell companies to receive over $28 million in bribe proceeds for a high-ranking public official relative. He and his co-conspirators funneled Odebrecht’s bribe funds through the United States, even using some of it to purchase a yacht and a condominium here.

The accused was nabbed at Guatemala’s el Aeropuerto Internacional la Aurora on July 6, 2020, while attempting to flee the country. His brother, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares (Ricardo Martinelli Linares), is also charged in this case, and extradition efforts are ongoing.

Assistant United States Attorney Alixandra Smith leads the prosecution team, along with Trial Attorneys Michael Culhane Harper, Barbara Levy, and Michael Redmann. Laura Mantell manages forfeiture matters, while the FBI’s International Corruption Unit in New York is conducting the investigation.

The Martinelli brothers are charged in E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-65 (RJD).