Biggest Panama Audit Reveals Multi-million Assembly Rip-offs

PANAMA has been rocked by the latest corruption revelations, with hundreds of millions of dollars disappearing into local sinkholes via deputies of the National Assembly.

All parties were involved, but deputies of the  Cambio Democratico  Party (CD) created and led by Ricardo Martinelli to further his political ambitions were the major looters during his term (2009-2014). The amount involved is bigger than the bribes paid by Odebrecht to government officials during the same period.

The Nation’s comptroller Federico Humbert confirmed what was denounced after the 2014 elections: the irregular management of multi-millions of funds transferred to communal boards and municipalities of, with the purpose of avoiding controls and often using them, , for political ends.

At a  Tuesday, February 27 press conference, Humbert reported that his office audited the handling of $247 million transferred by deputies to community boards between 2009 and 2014. “We have wide doubts that the monies delivered have reached the real beneficiaries”, he said.

He said the auditors found false invoices, altered documents and even handed out $20 million without any support.

They also found $50 million from transactions that did not have a fiscal invoice.

Earlier in the day, Humbert delivered the audits to the National Prosecutor, Kenia Porcell in 220 boxes

The case will be analyzed by the Anti-Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will request the Fifth Criminal Court to reopen the case, which was filed in 2015 on a provisional basis, pending the audits.

Call for justice
“In this country, there has to be justice,” said  Humbert, in revealing details of  186 audits conducted in communal boards and municipalities through which the deputies of the period 2009-2014 managed their constituency deals.

Humbert said that in the audits, the largest ever in the country, were irregularities, such as a single beneficiary who received more than half a million dollars in financial assistance.

He also quoted a company to which six checks for $14,900 each were deposited in a single day, and made reference to false invoices and in some cases with the date of presentation prior to printing; as well as forged documents, among other anomalies.

He said $319 million was audited, and almost 300,000 accounting transactions were verified.

A  total of $ 247 million was allocated to the deputies of the previous period and those who transferred funds to the communal boards for alleged economic aid, delivery of food bags, purchase of musical instruments, repairs, among other assignments

Humbert revealed that 34 deputies from the CD handled $158.8 million; 7 of the Molirena, $36.2 million; and 18 of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) received $34.7 million.

Another 10 deputies from the Panameñista Party got  $17.1 million and a Popular Party deputy handled $492,000.

“Almost all of them moved money and managed it through the communal boards and municipalities,” said Humbert, who pointed out that there are also current deputies from the National Assembly who were re-elected in the 2014 elections. “We have ample doubts that the monies delivered have reached the true beneficiaries, “he warned.

Secret Code
He explained that the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) identified each deputy with an alphanumeric code, which was deciphered by the auditors.

He said that the communal boards charged a commission of 10% of the amount handled and the rest, 90%, was available to the deputy to manage it as he felt fit.

“We found false invoices, altered documents, we found many things about the way officials worked,” he said, adding that for at least $20 million no documents existed to support the transactions. “We found $50 millions of transactions that did not have a fiscal invoice,” he added.

The information has been sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for criminal investigation, but it will also be taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to the General Revenue Office, so that patrimonial and tax liabilities against the State can be determined, reports La Prensa.

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