National Assembly official eyed in $9 million sports probe

Over $9 million was provided to sports organizations by the Panama Sports Institute (Pandeportes) without backup and the family business of the secretary general of the National Assembly has come under the eye of the Public Ministry following the findings of the Comptroller’s Office in the preliminary audit of the transfers.

The report which has been delivered to the public prosecutor reveals lack of administrative controls and the omission of the reports to be delivered by sports organizations that received funds.

The report covers the period from July 1, 2014, to July 31, 2018. The document highlights that more than $9 million “were not sustained”, which is equivalent to almost 100 disbursements. According to the comptroller Federico Humbert, the administration and the audit department of Pandeportes “will have to go out to render accounts and show their face ” as the administrative and fiscal procedures to deliver contributions to sports federations or associations, have been breached.

The decree emphasizes that these organizations must send an economic report to Pandeportes within 15 working days after the activity ends.

The Comptroller’s Office alleges that Pandeportes’ internal audit department “failed to review and demand” those reports, in order to justify the use of State resources.

On the other hand, the Anti-Corruption Office of Primary Care of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) is collecting documentation of companies, transfers, between representatives of federations and contractor companies, with Pandeportes.

The proceedings, led by prosecutor José Ayarza, reach the companies that provide services and those that benefitted from contracts with the Baseball Federation of Panama. chaired by Franz Wever Guerra, son of the secretary general of the National Assembly, who has the same name.

The prosecutor highlights the need to collect the total amounts of funds that have been allocated to the Baseball Federation of Panama, and  wants to know which item was used to deliver money to that organization, who withdrew it, and also requests an authenticated copy of the economic reports that the federation had to present within 15 days after the completion of the activities in which it used. State money.