In Panama, due process is not being respected, stated lawyer Víctor Orobio. This concerns not only the case of the former deputy and former director of Pandeportes, Héctor Brands, but the situation in general, as «things are being done in a rush.» Orobio responded this way after Brands' apprehension on Tuesday morning at his home, along with four family members, including his current partner. However, according to him, these actions are well-founded, legal, «have a known source and known companies,» so he emphasized that if a person has their money and has not stolen it, they can afford luxuries. The events under investigation date back to 2019, when a company linked to Brands and his family, after a change in its board of directors, began to receive government contracts for over 10 million dollars. From his point of view, «in this country, things are not going well and are being done hastily.» Regarding the apprehension of family members, he indicated that «for the prosecutor, it is a crime for there to be money transfers between family members» and that the crime is «the source of the income.» «I believe people must be given the right to defend themselves,» he said. To this moment, according to the lawyer, the defense «does not know for sure on what the prosecutor is basing everything he is saying.» «I believe there is a great incapacity, because these are technical issues and we have many prosecutors who launch cases without knowing well the legal figures they are handling,» Orobio assured. The Public Ministry's investigation, within the framework of Operation Bávaro, focuses on the alleged commission of the crimes of money laundering and unjust enrichment. Orobio stated that «the only thing we know is that we have two companies that are well-founded, well-established, have legitimate incomes, and corporate clients,» and he questioned the bases that the Prosecutor's Office will use to present its case. The lawyer explained that on Tuesday they would learn of the contents of the investigation against Brands after the case secrecy was lifted, as until that moment only the Prosecutor's Office had access to the file. «Where is the crime?» he asked. Despite the changes, the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds would have continued to be the former deputy and members of his family. The investigation is based on reports from the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF), which identified deposits of $27.9 million in bank accounts associated with Brands between January 2019 and June 2025.
