39 deputies facing $287 million probe

An appeal against a decision to allow the re-opening of the alleged corrupted  “communal meetings investigation involving transfers of $287 million by lawmakers has been rejected.

The fifth judge of the Criminal Circuit of Panama, Enrique Paniza, returned, the 93 volumes of the file to the anticorruption prosecutor.

Lawyer Armando Fuentes presented “written notice of appeal” on August 21 against the  Fifth Court decision admitting the request for reopening the summaries.

Judge Paniza flatly rejected the appeal as inadmissible.

A statement from the Judicial Branch said the Public Prosecutor’s Office already has a group of people ready to take charge of the case, among them, prosecutors, auditors, and staff of the Research Directorate. The prosecutors will be led by Leyda Sáenz.

Paniza, in a ruling of August 3, ordered the return of the files to the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s office which requested to resume the research after receiving 187 audits that the Comptroller’s Office showing that deputies transferred $287 million to community meetings during the past five years. 39 of the  deputies  were re-elected