Prosecutor asks 15-year sentence for shelter rip-off

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office filed an accusation against five people for the alleged embezzlement of the Ministry of Social Development (Mides) for mismanagement of funds detected in the Fundación Chilibre Panama shelter (Funchipa).

During a hearing on Monday, June 7, the guarantee judge Hiroko Tinoco admitted the presentation of 20 testimonial evidence, 13 expert witnesses and 54 documentaries provided by the Prosecutor’s Office.

During the intermediate phase hearing, prosecutor Yasmina Montoya requested the application of a sentence of 15 years in prison for the accused, due to the seriousness of their conduct.

The complaint filed in 2020 and that gave rise to the process was made after Mides found that in the reports for April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November 2019 there were expenses not budgeted and not authorized by that ministerial office.

An audit carried out from April 1 to December 31, 2019, showed a loss of $111 310 in the administration of Funchipa, since there were expenses not contemplated in the budget.

In addition, professional services not contemplated were invoiced to a company for an amount of $18,000.

In turn, payment to a law firm was recorded for the sum of $8,000 and billing for the sum of $26,750 for a pool for therapeutic use, an expense that was not contemplated.

The defendants in this case are the former director of Funchipa, Xenia Medina; the former legal advisor, Xenia Moreno; Itzel De La Cruz, Allan Moreno, Oscar Sánchez and Ilka Moreno.