The Public Ministry of Panama is inviting bids for the construction of the building of a regional judicial unit at Cocle.
Panama Government Purchase 2016-0-35-0-02-LV-014 341:
"The contractor must provide all labor, materials, tools, equipment, transportation, supplies and everything necessary to carry out the work of staking or demarcation on the ground at all levels, sub grading, lines and measures, as outlined and indicated on the drawings.
A bill has been presented which incorporates the concept of customs fraud and smuggling into the Penal Code and establishes penalties from 5-12 years in prison.
The bill provides various prison terms ranging from 5 to 12 years. Porcell explained that these concepts will be incorporated into the Penal Code and that predicates to money laundering will also be considered as an offence.
A bill which is to be submitted to the National Assembly in February establishes an obligation to report suspicious activities which are not specifically financial.
This initiative is part of the package agreed with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to strengthen legislation against money laundering and exit so called "greylists". It is expected that an updated legal structure will be in place by June 2015.
While in Colombia the activities of the company have already been outlawed, in Panama regulatory gaps have prevented a clear definition about the company from being made.
An article in Prensa.com reports that "... the Superintendency of Banks (SBP) and the Securities Market of Panama (SMV), jointly issued a statement in which they asked the Public Ministry (MP) to investigate Emgoldex Panama in order to determine whether activities totaling about six months in the country "are framed as criminal behavior in criminal law."
A draft bill proposes that the state seize goods from money laundering and other illicit activities.
"The suggestion has been raised to create a law that relates to forfeitures, because there is so much income and assets being generated, but we do not know what to do with those assets" said Ana Belfon, from the Attorney General's Office.
"Between April 2012 and June 2013 alone, the Statistics Center of Public Prosecutions recorded $1.3 million apprehended by the prosecutor specializing in organized crime," noted an article in Capital.com.pa.
A maximum security facility, for the crime and financial investigation divisions of the Judicial Police, was announced in Panama.
In order to pay for the 33 story building, the Panamanian Public Ministry (MP) will use $32 million in seized assets, which were "derived from the equivalent of confiscation of gold, after the capture and conviction of foreign nationals who used the Colon Free Zone, to commit unlawful acts and were prosecuted and punished in the U.S. "
In Panama, the district of Chitre, in the province of Herrera, is becoming a boutique metropolis for trade and tourism.
According to the architect Jose del Carmen Perez, a new zoning plan for Chitre by the Ministry of Housing is on the point of being adopted, which allow the construction of buildings over 10 storeys, something that is not allowed under the current plan.
The Attorney General's Office has announced the construction of a 33 storey building which will have 246 parking spaces.
According to Ana Belfon, head of the Attorney General's Office in Panama, the building will be constructed on the land where the Electoral Tribunal is sited and will house the office of the Attorney superior and the offices of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama and will have 246 parking spaces.