On Tuesday, the Public Ministry, in coordination with the National Police, carried out Operation Void, an action that resulted in the apprehension of three people, including the representative of the Arnulfo Arias Madrid district in the San Miguelito district, for their alleged involvement in financial crimes and money laundering. According to authorities, along with the representative, a community board official and a former collaborator of a banking entity were detained, who would have participated in a scheme to introduce funds obtained irregularly into the system. Preliminary investigations reveal that the group would be related to the falsification and deposit of checks, which were entered into a bank branch and debited from the account of a university located in the Chiriquí province. Subsequently, the money was credited to the account of the Arnulfo Arias Madrid community board. Once the funds were received, they would have been distributed through checks and transfers to several natural persons, in an apparent attempt to fragment the money and hinder its traceability within the financial system. According to official information, the economic damage linked to this case exceeds 492 thousand dollars, so the Public Ministry keeps the proceedings open to determine the possible existence of more involved in the network. The apprehended were placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities, where they will hold the corresponding hearings for the formulation of charges and the application of the precautionary measures established by the guarantee judge. The entry Operation Void uncovers alleged money laundering scheme in San Miguelito community board was first published in La Verdad Panamá.
