First heads roll in $300 million Panama Social Security scam

The first officials allegedly linked to a $300 million embezzlement plot within Panama’s Social Security Fund (CSS) were fired on Friday, May 4 said the authority’s director Alfredo Martiz.

He didn’t reveal the names of the officials as they are under investigation by the Public Ministry.  (MP) for the respective investigations.

On Thursday, four complaints were lodged with the MPAnti-Corruption Prosecutor of the MP for failures within the CSS.

The injury to the State was carried out through the Integrated Economic Benefits System (SIPE), used for the affiliation of  CSS policyholders

Martiz said he made the presentation about the embezzlement that has caused so much “stress” in the population and must be resolved by the MP.

He added that it was the first presentation of criminal complaints, and more are expected when the internal audit is completed.

The major contributors to the massive fraud case are Panama businesses who created a way to manipulate the online registration system. Like the  Odebrecht bribery scandal and the Blue Apple investigation, it underlines collusion between state employees and the business world.