Ex head of scandal plagued Anati gets plum overseas posting

The former director of Panama’s National Lands Authority (Anati) who resigned in the midst of a scandal over the granting of free titles, has been given a plum government job in Beijing.

Alejandro Castillero will be working in the Commercial Affairs Office in Beijing. The appointment has already have drawn heavy criticism from the Opposition.

Former Chancellor Samuel Lewis Navarro said that the appointment is a "slap in the face" for the Panamanian people, and accused the government of shielding Castillero from a potential  investigation into Corruption within Anati.

Castillero will act as  an new economic advisor with representative functions.

For Lewis Navarro, opposition leader in the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the appointment is another sign of the failure of the Government of Ricardo Martinelli.

Castillero Holds bachelor's degree in law and political science from the Universidad Santa Maria la Antigua and a master's degree of international banking law and finance from Boston University.

His appointment comes amid a scandal of corruption in Anati regarding alleged Irregularities in the transfer of land on his watch. Anabelle  Villamonte  who served under him is under investigation for her role in  the scandal, and  cannot leave  the country.