Former Pandeportes Director Arrested on Money Laundering Charges

The former deputy and director of the Panama Institute of Sports (Pandeportes), Hector Brands, walked down the hallway surrounded by the press, in silence, and under the watchful eyes of those following him to the room where he would face two hearings for alleged money laundering and unjust enrichment. Hours earlier, lawyer Víctor Orobio had warned from the court entrance that the process had to be based on evidence—not on social noise or a media agenda—and demanded full clarity in accessing the investigative file. To this was added another argument from the Public Ministry to support the capture: Brands had allegedly attempted to travel to the United States, which for the prosecutors represented a flight risk and justified the urgency of the apprehension. The guarantees judge ordered the provisional detention of the former deputy and former director of the Panama Institute of Sports (Pandeportes), Hector Brands, after declaring his apprehension and the imputation for unjust enrichment legal. A financial movement that—according to the investigators—does not match the income he reported. The day had begun with an image that was etched in memory: the former deputy and director of Pandeportes arrived at the Accusatory Penal System with his head down, not showing his face, and with teary eyes. Inside the room, the Public Ministry revealed figures that became the center of the hearing: the alleged unjust enrichment would amount to 3 million dollars, accumulated between 2021 and 2024. He was still wearing the same pajama-type clothes he had on when he was detained. The Prosecutor's Office stated that Brands spent 28,883 balboas in a single day, a transaction that included the purchase of a gold bracelet valued at 10 thousand dollars.