4 Arrest Warrants in the MOP Beams Case Including a Former Official

The Public Prosecutor’s Office reported Saturday September 21 that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office charged a man with aggravated willful embezzlement, and arrested him for the disappearance of 600 H beams from the Ministry of Public Works (MOP).   Sources from the Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the person arrested and charged is the owner of a recycling plant where some of the beams were found.  The man was charged as the primary accomplice.  Anti-Corruption prosecutor Marilú Batista reported that the hearing was held in the province of Panama Oeste.  “For this reason, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants for three other people.  We are waiting for our auxiliary arms to arrest these people, including a former official,” said Batista.  The 600 steel H-beams are valued at around $3 million.  

It was reported that they were initially intended for the repair of the Bridge of the Americas.  The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, meanwhile, continues to search for the rest of the beams in various parts of the country.  In recent days, authorities have located part of the material in different areas.  Thursday September 19 in collaboration with the National Police, they located 39 H-beams, dismembered into pieces at a recycling plant located on Calle 19 in Rio Abajo.  In addition, three more beams were found in Burunga, Arraiján, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.  Friday, September 20, another 22 were found in the Darién.  As of Friday afternoon, judicial authorities had recovered more than 140 beams, which are presumed to belong to the batch stolen from MOP.   Investigations into this case began on September 5, 2024.