Claw back time in PAN scandal

PANAMA  may be on the edge of getting back some of the money from  those who thought  the National Assistance Program (PAN)  was an invitation to help themselves from the public purse.

the National  Accounts Tribunal  has ordered the seizure of property owned by 39 companies, all created  during the Martinelli administration.

The companies have been connected to irregularities in the PAN. The tribunal ordered the seizure of bank accounts and safety deposit boxes, as well as assets such as real estate and planes.

An audit by the Comptroller has estimated the economic injury to the state as being up to $33.2 million.

In addition, 12 former officials have been linked, including Rafael Guardia Jaén, a former PAN director, and his assistant Abraham Williams.

Accounts Prosecutor Guido Rodríguez said that the fact that some of the companies had been dissolved will not impact that case, as “their legal representatives are responsible for their actions,” reports La Prensa

Tribunal judges issued the order after determining that “sufficient evidence was provided of alleged financial injury.”

Several of the companies involved in the case were found to have delivered checks to Guardia Jaen, which prosecutors have said were bribes.

For example, Econobasicos Internacional, S.A., linked to Penonomé businessman Juan Carlos Marciaga, delivered several checkstotaling $500,000 to Guardia Jaén.

Marciaga claimed the checks were campaign  donations despite the fact that they were made out to the official’s personal account and not to a political party.