Another member of the family of former deputy and former Pandeportes director Hector Brands appeared before the justice system. This is Joshua Brands, who was brought before a guarantees judge on Wednesday, December 17, within the investigation being conducted by the Public Ministry for the alleged crime of money laundering. During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested the legalization of the apprehension, the imputation of charges, and the imposition of precautionary measures, substantiating its claim that Joshua Brands would have received money transfers of approximately 23 thousand dollars, allegedly sent by his father. These amounts are part of the financial analysis being carried out in this criminal case. The guarantees judge legalized the apprehension and imputed charges for money laundering, and ordered periodic weekly reporting as a precautionary measure, for the time being ruling out the application of a more severe measure. According to the Public Ministry, an arrest warrant had been issued against Joshua Brands weeks earlier, during the operation in which former deputy Hector Brands was captured. However, at the time the warrant was issued, the accused was out of the country, specifically in Colombia. Upon his return to Panama, he voluntarily presented himself before the authorities, remaining at the disposal of the accusatory criminal system. It is worth remembering that in this investigation for alleged money laundering, Hector Brands, former deputy and former Pandeportes director, remains under provisional detention, as does his partner Elvis Rodríguez. Both are identified by the Public Ministry as central figures within the investigated structure. Meanwhile, other Brands children, his romantic partner, and other defendants face less severe precautionary measures, including periodic reporting to authorities and house arrest, depending on the degree of linkage the Prosecutor's Office attributes to them in the file. The investigation continues in the instruction phase, with the analysis of banking and financial movements that seek to establish the traceability of the money under suspicion.
