(CNN Spanish) -
Adolfo De Obarrio, the former private secretary of former President Ricardo Martinelli, was detained in Italy by an alert issued by Interpol that ordered his location and arrest to be extradited to Panama, as confirmed to CNN by De Obarrio's lawyer, Víctor Collado.
Hours before, in a brief statement and without going into details, the Foreign Ministry of Panama reported that De Obarrio has been detained in a prison in the city of Milan since the night of Wednesday, April 7, according to information received from the Italian authorities. .
In a statement, the Italian Police describe the former official as a 39-year-old Italian-Panamanian citizen, required since 2019 by the Panamanian Justice to face charges for alleged money laundering.
In a telephone conversation with CNN, Víctor Collado, Adolfo De Obarrio's lawyer in Panama, said that his client already has a defense in Italy.
He also explained that until now they did not know which case led to the arrest.
The accusations against Adolfo De Obarrio, former secretary of Martinelli
De Obarrio worked as the private secretary of the then president of Panama Ricardo Martinelli, who exercised power between 2009 and 2014. The lawyer explained that 6 processes related to the now-defunct National Aid Program (PAN) weigh on his client, for alleged irregularities in the purchase of dehydrated food, school bags, bags with food and grains, among others.
He is also singled out for alleged unjustified enrichment.
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Adolfo De Obarrio's defense in Panama denies the accusations.
He assures that there are contradictions in the statements of those who point it out and that, in return, these same people in his opinion have obtained preferential treatment.
He also said that his client left the country considering that there were no guarantees to undergo processes.
CNN requested comments and details about De Obarrio's arrest from the Public Ministry and the Judicial Branch of Panama.
The Public Ministry mentioned that it cannot provide them because the cases are already under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Branch.
The latter does not give details until there is a resolution.
