Former University Rector Under House Arrest
THE FORMER rector of the University of Panama,(UP), who ruled the institution like a personal fiefdom with his hands tightly controlling the purse strings, for over 15 years, has been placed under ho use arrest and prohibited from leaving the country.
Gustavo García de Paredes is charged with aggravated embezzlement related to alleged anomalies in the rental of 21 hectares of land near Tocumen International Airport to the Atlantic Pacific Consortium. The land belonged to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.
According to an audit carried out by the Office of the Comptroller General, the university lost $8.5+ million in the rental of the lands.
The investigation by the Public Ministry was prompted by a series reports in La Prensa revealing the rents of land under the ex-rector’s administration.
He is also under investigation for alleged irregularities in work done in the Dental Faculty.
