A Panamanian man who admitted money laundering yesterday joined his cousin in jail after being sentenced to three-and-a-half years and fined €5,000.

Domingo Navas, 33, decided to plead guilty to the single charge of money laundering rather than undergoing trial by jury.

Last year, he was acquitted of drug trafficking but his friend, José Pena, 41, from Colombia, was found guilty, jailed for 18 years and fined €20,000.

Money, according to the prosecution, was also laundered and sent by Mr Navas to Mr Pena when he was in Panama some years ago.

Mr Navas’s cousin, Eduardo Navas Rios, 30, who resides in Qawra, was six months ago found guilty in a trial by jury of stealing about €50,000 and laundering that amount to his home country.

He was jailed for four years and six months and fined €10,000.

The investigation began after an estimated €349,500 was transferred from Malta to Panama.

Police challenged Mr Navas over how he could afford to spend €22,000 on a new car, live in a flat costing €650 a month and still send thousands of euros abroad when he was unemployed. He could not come up with an answer.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Michael Mallia said he took into consideration the plea bargaining that took place between defence lawyer Joe Mifsud and the Attorney General before pronouncing sentence.