The Comptroller General of Panama, Anel Flores, revealed that, for the moment, assets worth around 40 million dollars have been frozen within the framework of investigations into the mismanagement of public funds. He highlighted that this figure represents 'the tip of the iceberg.' Flores stated that all measures have been taken under the Organic Law of the Comptroller's Office, which grants it the legal authority to order the freezing of assets, and indicated that although there are lawsuits in the Supreme Court, they are awaiting the corresponding rulings to proceed. The Comptroller said that the results yielded by the investigations conducted by the General Comptroller's Office into the handling of public funds during the administration of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, led by Laurentino Cortizo, have surprised him. 'The audacity was very great, I am surprised every day by what I am finding, and by people whom I supposed to be very correct and very decent,' Flores said in an interview with Telemetro Reporta. And he lamented that some entrepreneurs have 'these people as tenants.' 'When they are asked how it is possible, they claim ignorance.' He highlighted that many investigations arise from complaints made public in the media and from anonymous complaints, but all information will be referred to the Public Ministry. 'To those entrepreneurs who are involved in this, I have to tell them that they are helping to launder capital and public money, because these people cannot justify rents of 4,500 to 5,000 dollars when that was their salary,' he added. He emphasized that 'there are real estate promoters who have important tenants, but the assets appear in the name of the promoter; there is no justification for why those people live there.' He reiterated that the full weight of the law is going to fall on those entrepreneurs because they are helping to 'launder capital that belongs to the Panamanian people.' Additionally, the Comptroller made a call to national banks to strengthen their control mechanisms and criticized that ordinary people are blocked for minor procedures, while others with indications of unjust enrichment have significant accounts without being questioned further. Meanwhile, he said that they currently maintain coordination with the Comptroller's Office and the Public Prosecutor's Office to advance in these processes.
