Embezzlement cases jumped 33.6% last year

Embezzlement cases processed by Panama’s Public Ministry jumped 33.6 percent in 2012 according to figures provided by anticorruption prosecutors. 

In 2011 there were 125 cases of alleged embezzlement. Last year the figure rose to 167.
Anti-corruption prosecutors have indicted 2406 crimes against public administration in the last two years, with cases of embezzlement topping the list.
The processes represent an injury to the state of approximately $39 million.
According to the first anti-corruption prosecutor, Rosa Elvira Finch, the main obstacle in the investigation of the processes is the delay in the development and delivery of audit reports.
She said that it directly depends on the capabilities of the Comptroller General, responsible for developing such expertise.