Movin asks Varela for clear message on corruption

The  Independent Movement (Movin) has called on  Panama President, Juan Carlos Varela, to sanction Bill No. 514, which regulates the imprescriptibility of crimes of corruption that would prevent companies involved in acts of corruption from obtaining government contracts.

In a statement  on Sunday, April 8 Movin said:“It’s time to strengthen our legal framework, placing our country to the forefront in the fight against corruption, “

On April 3, the plenary session of the National Assembly approved in the third debate the draft Law No. 514, which establishes the statute of limitations for crimes of embezzlement (in its different forms), corruption of public servants and unjustified enrichment. The deputies included as imprescriptible the crimes of embezzlement in their different forms, unjustified enrichment and corruption of public servants. They did not consider the crimes of fraud in the acts of public hiring, influence peddling, abuse of authority and infringement of duties of public servants, which was also proposed the original project.

“For Movin, it is clear that this is the time to send an unequivocal message: demand that Whoever wants to win contracts with the State, meets the highest standards of business ethics and have a history of good practices, “the statement said.