Buying Stolen Goods in Panama Can Lead to Prison Time.

Buying a cell phone, car part, or other item of illicit origin can become a crime punishable by up to five years in prison in Panama, even when the buyer did not participate in the original robbery or theft.

In the district of San Miguelito, authorities have registered 17 complaints for receiving stolen goods during 2026, of which three ended in convictions. The other 14 cases remain under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has warned about the sale of stolen goods at prices considerably lower than their real value.

The practice mainly affects people who acquire goods without verifying their origin, especially through informal transactions and offers disseminated online. Article 392 of the Panamanian Penal Code establishes
penalties of two to five years in prison for those who acquire, receive, trade or conceal goods that they knew or presumed to be the proceeds of a crime. The penalty includes a fine equivalent to three times the value of the object, regardless of whether the person responsible participated in its theft.

The law stipulates a harsher penalty when the items belong to the State or are intended for public services. In such circumstances, the penalty increases to a range of four to six years in prison, in addition to the financial consequences provided for this criminal conduct, according to the provisions of the Penal Code.

Among the items that appear most frequently in these investigations are cell phones and car parts, generally linked to cases of aggravated robbery.

The products are subsequently offered to third parties at prices that may appear suspiciously low, a circumstance that should alert buyers to their possible origin. The Public Prosecutor’s Office warns that the absence of invoices, ownership documents, or proof of purchase is another red flag. It also recommends paying attention to offers made from anonymous profiles, clandestine transactions, and payments requested to third-party bank accounts without a verifiable explanation.

Transactions can be carried out using cash, bank transfers, or online banking services, which does not impede their investigation. On the contrary, electronic transactions can provide information about the individuals involved and allow investigators to reconstruct the transactions used to sell goods related to criminal activity.