Panama's Superintendent of Securities has requested a criminal investigation to be opened, against the former Minister of Tourism in the Martinelli Administration, Salomón Shamah. The case is the massive insider trading scandal involving shares of stock of Petaquilla Mine, traded through the Financial Pacific brokerage house. Martinelli, as well as most of his then-ministers, have been implicated by the former Superintendent of Securities, as well as the whistle blower, Mayte Pellegrini.
Shamah reportedly had his US Visa revoked several years ago, due to his reputed involvement in arms trafficking into Colombia, as he was accused of supplying the FARC & ELN, two specially designated global terrorist organizations. Shamah, a Colombian national, was a naturalized citizen of Panama. He has been linked to a powerful sector of Panamanian organized crime, and is known to be a close confidant of Ricardo Martinelli, for whom he allegedly laundered drug money. His appointment as Minister of Tourism, when he was not qualified for that position, occurred due to their relationship, and he has long been rumored to have engaged in corrupt activities, during his tenure as minister.
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