Interview: Official confirmed Bosch was responsible for seized funds

On February 8, 2024, Javier Antonio Castillero Anzola, Senior Clerk of the Eleventh Civil Court, appeared before the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office to provide testimony in the investigation against Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez. Castillero confirmed that, in the case involving Villamorey, S.A. and Lisa, S.A., a court-ordered seizure was issued in 2008 for $281,172.85 in dividends. He identified Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez as the legal representative who, in a signed letter to the court (folio 2163, Volume 7), acknowledged receipt of the order and agreed to retain the funds at the court’s disposal. His acknowledgment constituted acceptance of the role of judicial depositary, making him legally responsible for the seized amount.

Castillero stated that although the case has since concluded and the parties were instructed to offset mutual debts, the court never received confirmation that Bosch returned the seized funds. Nor was there any record showing whether more than the authorized amount was retained. While he noted that Villamorey, S.A. was the nominal recipient of the seizure order, it was Bosch who personally undertook the obligation to hold the funds for the court. Under Panamanian law, that act—combined with his failure to report or return the money—forms the basis of Lisa’s complaint for embezzlement and misuse of judicial authority.