Former Panama consuls jailed for embezzlement

Two former Panama consuls were sentenced to 12 months in prison by the first judge of criminal cases of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama for embezzlement, to the detriment of the Panamanian Consulate in Tampa, Florida.

The Judicial body did not specify the amount of the injury or disclose the names of the two former officials but La Prensa obtained documents indicating that they are Indira Antinori Ortiz and Roberto Cordovez Castillo.

 In the ruling, the Court explained that the criminal law in force when the embezzlement occurred was used to impose the sentence on those sentenced on August 9 Thus, it applied article 324 of the Penal Code of 1982, which indicates a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years; This rule entails a reduction of up to half if the money is repaid, “as was effective in this case.”

The case began in 2007, with an audit report for irregular handling during the period from 2000 to 2006 at the Panamanian Consulate in Tampa.