TV interview A confession of embezzlement

THE WAR OF WORDS revolving around The University of Panama Foundation (FUDEP) continues with the president of the entity appearing on TV claiming that an audit has been completed and the Comptroller General, who has told all government institutions that payments to the foundation will not be endorsed, denying the claim.

 A former Comptroller has called the TV appearance: “A confession of embezzlement.”
Sergei De La Rosa, said on TVN on Monday, July 6, that the audit was completed in May 2015, and could not understand why the Comptroller has suspended endorsements.
De La Rosa explained why state funds for work done by the university [like research and scientific and economic projects] are deposited in a private foundation. He argued that if the procedure in Panama Compra was used, bureaucracy would intervene, and that the Foundation took only 10% of the fees paid for projects carried out by the University.
“It was audited, I’m here to end these fabrications…we have not hidden anything,” De La Rosa said
“Nothing is more distant from reality,” said the Comptroller, Federico Humbert.
The latest audit made by the Comptroller was January 18, 2013, by his predecessor, and then only of the account of the Caja de Ahorros, Humbert said.
The FUDEP also has accounts in the National Bank of Panama and the General Bank, the Comptroller did not know about this last account before the current research. says La Prensa.
The current audit “has been very limited on the grounds that it is a private foundation” Humbert explained.
Despite the reluctance of the FUDEP, to submit to an audit a circular from the comptroller says that “private interest nonprofit associations” whose funds are channeled through public institutions -such as with FUDEP’s – “will be considered public “, and will be subjected to the oversight by the Ministry of Government and the Comptroller reports La Prensa
Following the suspension of the endorsement and the request that purchases would need to be made in the headquarters of the Comptroller, the rector of the University of Panama (UP) , Gustavo Garcia de Paredes, announced damages in the operation of the entity because of the controls.
“If the Foundation is of private interest, why would the suspension of the endorsements affect it, if it has nothing to do with the operations of the university? asked the Comptroller.
He added that the requests of the UP that comply with the laws will be endorsed. ” But we are being much more cautious,” he said.
Payments for services provided by the university should be received by the university itself, said Transparency International (TI), Director Carlos Gasnell, adding that the facts described by De La Rosa “seems to go against the public interest, which under an agreement, payments can be received by another entity, called University of Panama Foundation or another of a private nature”, he said.
In order to FUDEP to stay with a 10% commission for services offered by the UP it should exist an administrative regulation of legal origin, because, otherwise, the Law 6 of Public Procurement should be used, he said.
Ex-comptroller, Weeden, has asked the Pubic Prosecutor to raid the offices of the foundation and to investigate its members. “The statements of De La Rosa are a confession of embezzlement. They have violated the Public Procurement Law, they have committed fraud in all the acquisitions”, said Weeden’.