After guilty pleas, Panama wants to recoup illicit gains from Martinelli sons

FILE PHOTO: Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, sits in a car after a hearing where he accepted extradition to the U.S. on money laundering charges, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Luis Echeverria/File Photo

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's government said on Wednesday it wanted to recover millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains made by two sons of a former Panamanian president who have pleaded guilty in the United States to money laundering.

The sons of former President Ricardo Martinelli - Luis Enrique Martinelli and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli - entered guilty pleas this month after U.S. prosecutors accused them of acting as intermediaries for some $28 million in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to a Panamanian official while their father was president from 2009 to 2014.