In the interests of greater transparency, the Superintendency of Banks has reported the details of the fines imposed in 2015 and 2016 on nine banks in the Panamanian banking system.
The Banks sanctioned in 2015 and 2016 are the state run Caia de Ahorros and St. George Bank, Banco Azteca (Panama), Austrobank Overseas (Panama), Banesco, Unibank, Banco Universal (now liquidated), Global Bank and Bank Ficohsa.
A proposal has been made in Panama to make public all sanctions to be imposed on entities that violate the law on prevention of money laundering.
The proposal put forward by the National Committee Against Money Laundering, and Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CNBC), created in 2015 within the framework of the new law on prevention of money laundering, aims to "...
SAP International agreed with the the US National Stock Committee to pay $3.7 million of its profits and $189,000 in interest for bribing panamanian officials.
The penalty relates to the corruption case linked to former company executive, Vicente Eduardo Garcia, who was sentenced to 22 months in prison for bribing Panamanian officials. Garcia paid $145,000 in bribes to the company Advanced Consulting Panama, SA, who won a $14.5 million contract with the Social Security Department which included the sale of software licenses.
The Superintendency of Securities in Panama has issued a fine of more than $300,000 for violations and administrative misconduct in the public offering of securities.
The highest fine recorded in the history of the Superintendency of Securities in Panama has generated high expectations, as now they are starting to resolve investigations which were pending and which may also lead to the possibility of criminal investigations.
The Superintendency of Banks in Panama has added special reviews of financial institutions announcing that fines for infringers will reach up to $1 million.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama:
We inform you that starting from November 18, 2014, we are operating a special program of inspections of banks, in order to verify compliance with the established regime to prevent services being improperly used for the offense of money laundering, financing terrorism and other related crimes or those of a similar nature or origin. This program is an additional measure to the inspections made by the Superintendency .
So far this year 150 constructions have been suspended for violating local regulations.
An article in Laestrella.com.pa reports on the auditing activities of the Municipality of Panama: "So far this year, the Mayor of Panama has suspended 150 constructions that do not meet established standards and have attended to about 400 complaints regarding works that do not meet the rules", said the mayor Roxana Mendez.
The measure applies to all types of shops in the district of Panama, prohibiting the sale of liquor between 2 am and 9 am, Sunday through Wednesday and from 3:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
With fines ranging from $ 500 to $10,000, Bosco Vallarino, Panama City Mayor issued the decrees which also establishes schedules for the sale of alcoholic beverages.