New comptroller facing major clean up task

IN JANUARY 2015, the management of Panama’s public finances will be in the hands of Federico Humbert Arias, replacing Gioconda Torres de Bianchini, who has been strongly criticized for not performing the audits required as part of her duties during the past government..

A Humbert Arias, according to leaders from various sectors, will be responsible for cleaning up the entities that were distant from control during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, cleaning the image of the Comptroller General and auditing the different government departments reports La Prensa.
A major assignments for the new Comptroller will be the immediate realization of a”forensic audit” of all departmental irregularities overlooked e in the past five years.

Fernando Aramburu Porras, president of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives, said Humbert Arias must be unafraid to audited entities computers. “You must report how they have handled the multimillion-dollar contracts that the last government handed out,” he said.

President Juan Carlos Varela said Friday that Humbert Arias is a person “with his own judgment and knows his responsibilities.” He explained that “we must ensure that justice is given not only to recover capital assets but to ensure the honesty of my own government.”
Humbert Arias will be accompanied by Nitzia of Villarreal as sub comptroller. Villarreal was former Minister of Trade and Industry during the administration of former President Ernesto Perez Balladares (1994-1999).