Panama cops most bribed as  corruption expands

The Global Corruption Barometer of 2019, produced by Transparency International,(TI ) shows that 56% of Panamanian citizens believe that corruption has increased in the last 12 months.

The Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom, the Panamanian chapter of TI presented the 10th edition of the report covering  Latin America and the Caribbean. The surveys used were conducted between January and March 2019.

The report shows that institutions, where Panamanians paid the most bribes, were the police with 29% and in public services with 14%, which coincides with the regional trend,” said the Foundation.

Within the regional international classification, Panama is the fifth country with the highest perception that corruption increased in the previous year, preceded by Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Trinidad, and Tobago.

“The citizens of the region mark an extreme concern about corruption and consider it a very big problem since 11 of the 18 countries, starting with Panama, mark that particular concern up 90%,” says the report.

Carlos Barsallo, one of the exponents of the report, said that in Panama more than $10 billion have been lost due to corruption. ”