Mayor of Colón, Alex Lee, Arrested

The judge of guarantees, Ángel Santos, decreed the measure of not being able to leave the country and periodic reporting on Mondays and Fridays, to the mayor of Colón, Alex Lee, who faces a process for the alleged crime of embezzlement.  Alex was at the Tocumen Airport on his way to Medellin Colombia when he was arrested.  The prosecution appealed the precautionary measures and the hearing was set for May 27 before the Superior Court of Appeals of the First Judicial District.  Friday, May 17, the hearing was held behind closed doors at the request of Lee’s defense, in the city of Colón, after his arrest on Thursday.  The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Ministry is investigating Lee for the alleged commission of the crime of embezzlement, when he served as representative of Barrio Sur, province of Colón. 

According to the investigation, Lee is attributed with the embezzlement of at least $214,000, which had been assigned to him by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to carry out social works.  The investigations reveal that Lee was unable to provide documentation to support some disbursements made supposedly linked to construction works.  Víctor Almengor, Lee’s lawyer, explained that during the hearing of the guarantee judge he declared the illegal arrest of his client carried out at the Tocumen International Airport, when he was leaving for Colombia.  Almengor, who is the father of Vice Minister of Finance Jorge Almengor, alleged that his client is not responsible for the acts of which he is accused.  Lee’s defense alleges that part of that documentation, which dates back to the years 2017-2018, was destroyed during a series of floods in that province.  Lee was detained Thursday May 16 at the Tocumen International Airport when he tried to leave the country bound for Medellín, Colombia.