Two sons of former Panama President, Ricardo Martinelli have been charged by US attorneys with bribery and money laundering linked to Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.
Luis Enrique Martinelli, 38, and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 40, were arrested earlier in the day in Guatemala City as they attempted to board a flight to Panama.
According to Guatemala’s police, the duo are being extradited to America.
Odebrecht has been at the center of Latin American corruption scandal which was uncovered in 2014, in which the company paid more than $700 million in bribes to government officials in various countries.
Odebrecht has admitted it paid $788m in bribes to win construction contracts in 12 countries agreeing to pay a world record $3.5bn fine.
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The Department of Justice said in a statement the Martinelli sons are accused of having been intermediaries for the payment of about $28m in bribes from Odebrecht to a high-ranking Panama official between 2009 and 2014, the period in which their father was in office.
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Former President Martinelli and his successor, Juan Carlos Varela, were last week banned from leaving Panama while under investigation for money laundering in separate corruption cases.
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