Three strikes for ex Canadian mine boss
THE FORMER head of Canadian gold mining company Petaquilla whose checkered history has reported links to Ricardo Martinelli’s activities, had three strike outs on Saturday, February 27.
Richard Fifer was arrested in Colombia on Thursday after an international arrest warrant was issued by Panamanian judicial authorities.
In three court appearances in Cocle, the province he once governed, Fifer received three preventive detention orders.
The first case was related to allegedly withholding over $3 million Social Security dues paid by workers at the mine,
In the second hearing he was charged with withholding over $3 million in quotas due to the Panama Infrastructure Development Company (PDI
In the third hearing he was charged with withholding workers’ dues of over $20,000 in a business listed as Mar del Sur.
A statement from the court said Fifer’s lawyer Marilin Melgar appealed preventive detention in the first two cases. The appeals will be resolved in hearings to be held on March 2 and 3 in the Cocle Court of Appeals.
In addition, Fifer faces criminal prosecution with his Canadian partner Keneth Morgan, for fraud to the detriment of Canadian Company Gold Dragon.