Moderators Moderator_03 Posted September 1, 2022 Moderators Share Posted September 1, 2022 Quote Former Cocle governor facing embezzlement trial Posted 31/08/2022 After presenting a medical excuse last May, businessman, and politician Richard Fifer has been facing an oral trial since Tuesday for allegedly withholding worker-employer contributions amounting to more than $6 million, to the detriment of the Social Security Fund (CSS). The former governor of Coclé during the government of Mireya Moscoso is being tried by Virginia Rodríguez, Florelia Bonilla and Amarelis Sucre. The Public Ministry, which investigated the legal representative of the company Petaquilla Gold, SA, for allegedly withholding CSS quotas between 2013 and 2015, participates through the superior anti-corruption prosecutor Mahmad Daud Hasan, and Deputy Prosecutor Olmedo Gómez. During the start of the hearing on Tuesday, the initial arguments of the Public Ministry and the private technical defense were evacuated. The presentation of 25 testimonials, expert and documentary evidence also began. The hearing will resume this Friday, September 2, at the headquarters of the Accusatory Penal System of the province of Coclé. The trial judges stated that the recess is due to the fact that the court had another previously scheduled hearing. Other cases In 2021, Fifer was sentenced by the Criminal Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama to 120 months in prison for the crime of aggravated fraud against the company Gold Dragon Capital Management, LTD. In 2005, this company signed a contract with Petaquilla Minerals, SA, for a “purchase option on the rights arising from various concessions”, committing to sell two polygons of the “called Belencillo Concession” and to exchange shares. According to Gold Dragon Capital Management, LTD, the deal fell through. In another investigation, that of the "New Business" case, the name of Petaquilla Minerals also appears as part of a financial operation where money from the sale of its shares was used as "support to request the transfer for the sum of two million dollars” to the New Business Services Limited account, used for the purchase of Editora Panamá América. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/former-cocle-governor-facing-embezzlement-trial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_03 Posted September 7, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted September 7, 2022 Quote Prosecution appeals not guilty ruling for ex-governor of Coclé Richard Fifer. Posted 06/09/2022 After days of hearing in Penonomé, Judges Virginia Rodríguez, Florelia Bonilla, and Amarelis Sucre declared the former governor of Coclé, Richard Fifer, not guilty of illegal withholding of over $6 million contributions from the Social Insurance Fund, (SSC). The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office immediately announced that it will present an appeal. Fifer faced trial for the alleged commission of the crime of improper withholding of employee-employer fees to the detriment of the CSS. The investigation began with the alleged withholding of CSS quotas from the end of 2013 to January 2015, through the companies Petaquilla Gold, S.A. and Panamá Desarrollo e Infraestructura, S.A., of which the former governor of Coclé was the legal representative https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/prosecution-appeals-not-guilty-ruling-for-ex-governor-of-cocle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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