The National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI) has accepted a complaint filed by lawyer Guillermo Cochez against the capital's mayor Mayer Mizrachi. The complaint concerns possible violations of the ethical regime and conflicts of interest in signing an agreement with Towerbank International Inc. and Towertrust Inc., represented by Benjamín Méndez Kardonski, one of the main donors of the mayor's political campaign.
The ANTAI's Supervision Directorate, through Resolution No. 65-2025-DS of April 25, 2025, has determined that the filed complaint meets the established requirements, leading to the opening of a formal administrative investigation. According to the complainant, the Municipality of Panama allegedly contracted services without a bidding process and without legal support to use digital currencies in tax collection.
The case has been referred to the ANTAI's Directorate for Prevention of Conflicts of Interest for it to issue its ruling in accordance with Law 316 of August 18, 2022. Following the admission of the complaint, Mayor Mizrachi has been granted a period of five business days to present his defenses and provide relevant evidence.
The complaint highlights possible administrative irregularities in the direct contracting of a company, whose legal representative was a significant financial contributor to the mayor's campaign, which could be contrary to the principles of transparency and ethics in public service, according to ANTAI.
Lawyer Guillermo Cochez stated that the complaint is based on the alleged violation of transparency standards. "The contract was direct, without bidding, with a banking entity led by one of the largest donors to the campaign, which supports the complaint," he declared. Cochez mentioned that it will now be necessary to prove the claims, which will require information from the Electoral Tribunal regarding the donations received by the mayor, to determine possible sanctions for violations of transparency standards.
ANTAI has also ordered the formal notification of the accused mayor, the Directorate for Prevention of Conflicts of Interest, and the complainant, in compliance with established procedures.
