$100 million Via Brasil overcharge hearing rescheduled

The First Liquidating Court of Criminal Cases of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, rescheduled the preliminary hearing in the so-called “FCC” case for the crime against the economic order and t the public administration, to the detriment of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), to on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 January 2024.

The hearing that was scheduled for June 26, 27, and 28 was not held because the international assistance provided for the notification of one of the defendants yielded negative results.

In this criminal case, there are 14 charged. The investigation dates from 2017 and is related to an audit report sent to the prosecutor’s office that concluded that there was an alleged cost overrun to the detriment of the MOP.

FCC has been investigated in Panama since April 2017 for the payment of alleged bribes and cost overruns for more than $100 million in projects of the Plan for the Road Reordering of Panama City. The investigation began, with the audit report sent to the Prosecutor’s Office by the Comptroller of Panama indicating that in the project called study, design, construction, and financing of works of the Vía Brasil corridor valent to 19.3% more than the reasonable price, according to official information. The final price of the project had a value of $216.3 million, and the reasonable price, according to the Comptroller’s report, should have been $174.5 million.