Prosecution appeals not guilty ruling for ex-governor of Coclé

 

After days of hearing in Penonomé,  Judges Virginia Rodríguez, Florelia Bonilla, and Amarelis Sucre declared the former governor of Coclé, Richard Fifer, not guilty of illegal withholding of over $6 million contributions from the Social Insurance Fund, (SSC).

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office immediately announced that it will present an appeal.

Fifer faced trial for the alleged commission of the crime of improper withholding of employee-employer fees to the detriment of the CSS.

The investigation began with the alleged withholding of CSS quotas from the end of 2013 to January 2015, through the companies Petaquilla Gold, S.A. and Panamá Desarrollo e Infraestructura, S.A., of which the former governor of Coclé was the legal representative