News
Tuesday 18th February 2025.
February 17, 2025
The Odebrecht company has only paid the National Treasury $76 million of the $220 million fine imposed after admitting that it used the Panamanian banking system to pay bribes to officials and individuals in order to obtain multimillion-dollar contracts.
During a hearing held on Monday, February 17, at the facilities of the Accusatory Criminal System (SPA), Judge James Corro decreed the non-compliance of the payments that Odebrecht had to make in 2024 for the sum of $19,249,999, plus a 5% surcharge for not having paid on time.
At the hearing, the anti-corruption compliance prosecutor, Johaira González, alleged that Odebrecht has consistently ignored payments to the Panamanian State, for which reason she requested the retention of amounts that state companies owe the company for projects in progress.
Previously, the prosecution had asked Judge Corro to retain $2 million from the Brazilian company, corresponding to a payment that the Panama Metro was to make to the company.
The judge also asked the construction company to correct a series of documents related to payments for a contract it has with the Tocumen International Airport, on which retentions have also been ordered.
The agency also requested that the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Ministry of Economy and Finance report in a timely manner on the withholdings ordered for payments that Odebrecht must make to the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning.
At a compliance hearing held on August 12, 2024, Judge Corro validated the payment of $3.1 million as part of the fine.
Since 2019, Odebrecht has been in arrears with payments.
On January 20, Judge Baloisa Marquínez suspended the trial of 26 people accused of money laundering resulting from bribes from Odebrecht, including former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), who has been seeking asylum for a year at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama.
The trial was rescheduled from November 11 to December 19, 2025, with an alternate date of January 12 to February 13, 2026.
In the midst of the reopening of the Aristocles ‘Toco’ Castillo stadium in Santiago de Veraguas, President José Raúl Mulino said this Monday, February 17, that he will soon announce an “urgent economic reactivation mechanism” for the country.
He said they are making “efforts” to allocate public funds “to rescue the country.”
“What we are doing is not easy,” he said, while attacking those who are calling for a strike.
“This is a country that wants to move forward and not get bogged down in the struggles of people who have done nothing but organize strikes in their lives,” he said.
“Call them for a strike and they are on their way. No one can beat them,” he added.
He said that the country needs people with positive thinking and who want to work, and not “people who, for political reasons and leftist ideologies, want to paralyze Panama.”
He assured that the country will make economic progress, but we need to have a “little” patience and calm.
“Have faith and trust,” he added.
A meeting between the board of directors of the National Assembly and the heads of the parliamentary factions, on Monday, February 17, delayed the start of the second debate of bill No. 163, which proposes reforms to the Organic Law of the Social Security Fund (CSS), for six hours.
The plenary session of the Legislative Body was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am this Monday, but the lack of consensus on how the discussion should be carried out in the second debate caused a delay of almost six hours.
The deputies approached the plenary session at around 4:00 pm, where the proposed methodology was finally announced.
While the group of deputies of the Vamos coalition and the Panameñista Party proposed that the discussion be divided into three blocks , the three deputies of the Movimiento Otro Camino (Moca), together with the group of the Realizing Goals (RM) and Democratic Change (CD) parties suggested that it be carried out in two blocks .
The proposal for discussion in three blocks presented by Vamos was approved with 43 votes in favor , while the one presented by Moca and RM received 43 votes against.
Argentine President Javier Milei promoted a cryptocurrency that has defrauded thousands of people. It is called $LIBRA, created by KIP Network Inc. , a company registered in Panama.
KIP Network Inc. , according to data from the Public Registry, is a public limited company created on March 22, 2024 with a capital of $1.
Its directors, who are not necessarily the owners, are Cristino Guevara Salazar, who acts as secretary; Gracieli Mariana Morales , who acts as treasurer; and Carlos Alberto Weand Ortiz , who acts as president.
Weand Ortiz, the president, is related to nine other companies: Rayford Solutions Inc., Foxline Technology SA, Europort Inter Corp., Corporación Genial SA, Citynet Express Inc., Alcide Asset Management SA, Grupo UB Sociedad Anónima, Boskero Group SA and Corsiva Global Inc.
He is also listed as the legal representative of ABC Global International, INC, a financial services, finance and accounting company. He provided an address in the district of San Francisco.
While KIP Network Inc shares directors and officers with the following companies: Catersville Trade Company SA, Karpark Global Inc. and Portman Export SA
The company’s resident agent is CL Registered Agents , who, according to the public deed, accepted the appointment to the position “on the premise that they will not be liable for any actions that the directors may take.”
The corporation is domiciled in Panama City, exactly at Vía España, Torre Banco Delta, 6th floor, the same address as CL Registered Agents.
The CEO of the company that created the cryptocurrency is Julián Peh , who had met Milei last October at the Tech Forum in Argentina, according to a news article from Público.
This story began when Milei posted a message on social network X last Saturday in which she highlighted a “private venture” for a cryptocurrency token that works with blockchain . However, she later deleted it and offered excuses, after learning about the possible link between this token and virtual scams.
“ A few hours ago I posted a tweet, like so many other countless times, supporting a supposed private project with which I obviously have no connection. I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading the word (that is why I have deleted the tweet) ,” he wrote.
According to the EFE agency, the “undertaking” that Milei was talking about was a ‘meme coin’, as those cryptocurrencies that do not have real economic support and are based on capitalizing on the enthusiasm that revolves around a phenomenon or a person on social networks are known in the digital world.
“Liberal Argentina is growing! This private project will be dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small Argentine businesses and startups. The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei said hours earlier, a message that was deleted by the president.
For its part, the company in charge of the project Milei was talking about, stated in statements collected by the local newspaper La Nación that the president “was not and is not involved in any way in the development of the project, which is absolutely private.”
The company, owner of the cryptocurrency ‘Libra’, experienced a rise in price after Milei’s message, but hours later the effervescence collapsed.
Health Minister Fernando Boyd Galindo said that they expect the construction of the new Children’s Hospital to resume on Monday, February 17, after the damage and disruption caused by the violent events and protests on February 12 by workers of the National Union of Workers in the Construction and Similar Industries (Suntracs).
“I think that they are going to start [the works] again today, Monday. I did ask the director of the works, the chief engineer of the works, to be careful not to hire people who have a police record,” said the minister in an interview with TVN Noticias.
He said there are people who pretend to be construction workers but are not and are at certain construction sites to cause damage and generate protests.
The minister reiterated that due to the violent events that took place at the construction site, a fire broke out on the second floor, causing extensive damage.
The fire was put out by firefighters, but it caused some flooding in the area, and the damage needs to be checked.
“Some of the air conditioning ducts were destroyed. Walls were also destroyed in some areas,” he said. The minister regretted the delays caused by these events, as this infrastructure is required to meet the health needs of many children.