Cpt. 202300033850 · Criminal Complaint (Embezzlement and Misappropriation)
On August 19, 2025, Lisa, S.A. requested that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor order an on-site inspection of the offices of Galindo, Arias y López (GALA), Villamorey's registered agent, after more than thirteen months of noncompliance with the order to produce accounting and financial records for 2019-2024.
Lisa, S.A. filed a criminal complaint before Panama's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor against Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez for extended embezzlement, alleging that, as judicial depositary of Villamorey, S.A., he misappropriated dividends belonging to Lisa totaling at least $70,000,000.00. BDT Investments, Inc., successor to Lisa's shareholder rights in Villamorey, joined as co-complainant raising the claimed damages to $120,000,000.00. The investigation, registered under Case No. 202300033850, has established that Bosch never filed any depositary reports, failed to comply with the set-off order contained in Order No. 2277-2018, executed a capital increase without notifying Lisa as a shareholder, and obstructed the production of financial records through Villamorey's registered agent, Galindo, Arias y López. Bosch acknowledged notification of the admitted complaint in May 2025, invoking his right to remain silent, while the Prosecutor's Office continues efforts to obtain Villamorey's accounting records for the 2019-2024 period.
Lisa, S.A., through its legal representative Harald Johannessen Hals and attorney Carlos De Icaza Muñoz, filed a criminal complaint before Panama's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor against Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez for offenses against public administration in extended modality. The complaint alleges that Bosch, acting as attorney-in-fact, manager, and judicial depositary of Villamorey, S.A., misappropriated dividends owed to Lisa as holder of 33.3% of the company's share capital, totaling at least $70,000,000.00.
The unlawful conduct is traced to November 25, 2008, when Bosch informed the Eleventh Circuit Civil Court that dividend retentions were at the Court's disposal, thereby assuming the role of judicial depositary under Article 536 of the Judicial Code. The deposit was resolved by Order No. 2277-2018, which ordered set-off and the release of excess amounts, yet Bosch never accounted for the funds. The complaint invokes Articles 338 and 343 of the Penal Code and the reversal of burden of proof under Article 257 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Assistant Prosecutor Mireily Diaz Girón addressed an official notice to the Eleventh Circuit Civil Court requesting information on the status of the Lisa v. Villamorey ordinary proceeding (Case No. 7081-08), Bosch's designation as judicial depositary, his compliance with reporting obligations, and authenticated copies of key filings. This notice was one of the first investigative steps following the complaint.
The Prosecutor's Office requested the Eleventh Civil Court to transmit authenticated copies of the complete case file from the Lisa v. Villamorey proceeding, invoking Article 75 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires public entities to provide prompt cooperation with Public Ministry requests. This second request supplemented the earlier notice by seeking the full documentary foundation for the criminal investigation.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, through Resolution No. 73-2023, formally admitted the criminal complaint against Bosch and recognized Lisa, S.A. as the complainant party. The Prosecutor verified compliance with the formal requirements of Article 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code and ordered evaluation of the requested evidence and investigative steps, including verification of depositary reports, inspection of accounting books, and notices to the Superintendency of Banks. The resolution clarified that admission does not mean the alleged offenses are proven, only that procedural requirements were met. This act opened the criminal investigation.
On the same day, the Prosecutor's Office issued a summons for Bosch to appear at the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's offices at Avesa Building. The address on file was Scotia Plaza, Floor 11, Office 11, Bella Vista. The summons was not fulfilled, beginning a protracted notification process that would extend for nearly two years.
The Eleventh Civil Court responded to the prosecution's request with official certification on three aspects of the sequestration in Case 556-99. The court confirmed Bosch's designation as judicial depositary (records at pages 2150 and 2163), certified that no reports of any kind from Bosch exist in the file, and noted that the plaintiff never requested his removal. This certification directly supported the complaint's central thesis: Bosch assumed custody of Lisa's assets without fulfilling his legal obligations as depositary.
Lisa filed a clarifying brief to rebut Bosch's defense, which characterized the criminal action as disproportionate. The brief responded point by point: it rejected the notion that exercising a legal right constitutes abuse, invoked the judicial certification confirming the absence of reports, noted that the charged offense has never been previously adjudicated (defeating the res judicata argument), and reported Bosch's evasive conduct in a parallel accounting proceeding (Case No. 83573-2021) pending notification via rogatory letter in Guatemala.
Lisa requested that Bosch be summoned for a clarifying interview, seeking international judicial assistance given his domicile in Guatemala City (5 Avenida 15-45, Zona 10, Centro Empresarial). Resolution No. 593 denied this request on constitutional grounds protecting against self-incrimination, but simultaneously denied Bosch's request to archive the case and ordered new investigative steps.
The Prosecutor denied the defense's request to archive the case, rejecting the argument that the facts belonged exclusively to civil jurisdiction. The resolution reaffirmed the Public Ministry's constitutional authority over criminal investigation, found the case to be in a preliminary phase requiring additional evidence, ordered an interview with court officer Javier Castillero Anzola, and authorized inquiries to all civil circuit courts to verify whether any proceedings existed against Lisa, S.A. The decision to keep the investigation open despite defense opposition validated the viability of the criminal case.
Ten civil circuit courts of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama responded to the prosecution's inquiries. Eight courts reported categorically that no proceedings of any kind exist or have existed against Lisa, S.A. The remaining two (Eleventh and Fifth Courts) reported only cases initiated by Lisa as plaintiff against Villamorey. This documentary evidence defeated any suggestion that Lisa was a litigant with outstanding civil liabilities and confirmed its status as the aggrieved party pursuing multiple judicial avenues to enforce its rights.
Javier Castillero Anzola, Senior Clerk of the Eleventh Civil Court, testified before the Prosecutor's Office as the official who directly handled the civil case file. He confirmed that the sequestration targeted shares and dividends up to $281,172.85, that Bosch personally assumed the depositary role through a letter recorded at page 2163 of volume 7, and that the court never verified whether Villamorey actually retained the funds. Verification was impossible because the companies in which Villamorey held shares on behalf of Lisa were located in Honduras, outside Panamanian jurisdiction. His testimony established Bosch as directly responsible for the custody of Lisa's dividends under Article 536 of the Judicial Code.
Lisa formally requested Bosch's indictment under Article 280 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The motion identified the accumulated evidence: the enforceable Order No. 2277-2018, Bosch's letter of November 25, 2008, Public Registry certifications, Castillero Anzola's testimony, and notices from multiple civil courts. Anticipating a jurisdictional objection, it cited Panama Supreme Court precedent distinguishing between civil fraud (assertion of what is false) and criminal intent (intention to commit an offense), maintaining that the claim is punitive in nature.
The Prosecutor's Office partially granted Lisa's evidentiary requests. It ordered Villamorey, S.A. and, alternatively, its registered agent Galindo, Arias y López (GALA) to produce accounting books and financial statements for 2019 through 2024. It denied the on-site inspection as duplicative of the document demand, and deferred the forensic audit until the financial records were received. This resolution opened the financial line of investigation that GALA's obstruction would stall for over a year.
The Prosecutor issued a formal notice to Villamorey demanding authenticated copies of its financial statements for 2019-2024, in direct implementation of the prior resolution. The notice received no response.
Lisa confirmed to the Prosecutor that Bosch, Villamorey, and GALA share the same address: Avenida Federico Boyd, calle 51, Scotia Plaza, Floor 11, Office 11. The brief warned that any claim of not knowing Bosch or Villamorey is an attempt to obstruct justice, citing documents in the case file that confirm the accuracy of the address.
Lisa filed an evidentiary brief consolidating the evidence of Bosch's violations along three axes. First, the sustained noncompliance over more than six years with the set-off order in Order No. 2277-2018. Second, the execution of a capital increase through Public Deed No. 19,612 of September 27, 2022, without notifying Lisa as holder of 33.3% of the share capital, in violation of Articles 10, 40, and 42 of Law 32 of 1927. Third, GALA's systematic obstruction, with staff denying knowledge of the company they represent when receiving notifications from the Public Ministry. Lisa requested provisional seizure of the retained funds under Article 253 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
BDT Investments, Inc., incorporated under the laws of Barbados, filed a criminal complaint against Bosch for crimes against public administration in extended modality, claiming a minimum of $120,000,000.00 in damages. BDT acquired Lisa's rights over Villamorey shares by judicial mandate, as certified in Order No. 898 of April 12, 2022 issued by the Twelfth Civil Court. The complaint invokes victim status under Article 79(3) and (6) of the Criminal Procedure Code and requests admission as co-complainant under Article 90. BDT's joinder significantly expanded the scope of the criminal case, doubling the claimed damages and providing a second basis of standing as current holder of the shareholder rights.
Bosch's attorney, Lcdo. Moisés Joel Bartlett Quiel, filed an opposition to the request for Villamorey's financial information. The brief contains an admission against interest: the defense submitted share certificates documenting that Lisa endorsed its shares to BDT Investments, Inc. on April 12, 2022, thereby confirming the chain of title that underpins BDT's standing as shareholder and co-complainant.
Lisa requested the Prosecutor to issue an Interpol location alert for Bosch, who could not be located for personal notification despite his defense counsel's active participation in the case file through written submissions. The request was filed nine days after the defense's opposition brief, exposing the paradox of a defendant whose attorney litigates actively while the defendant himself remains unreachable.
Javier Castillero Anzola appeared a second time before the Prosecutor to testify about the conclusion of the civil case. He confirmed that the execution phase ended with Order No. 2277-18, that bonds were released through Order No. 1867-19, and that the file was archived on January 5, 2021. His testimony established that, from the civil court's perspective, the case is a terminated and archived proceeding with nothing outstanding, reinforcing the theory that the set-off obligation went unfulfilled despite the file being closed.
The Prosecutor confirmed that a commission sent to the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) to locate GALA's address was prepared on February 25, 2025, with the response pending.
Lisa urgently requested international judicial assistance to notify Bosch in Guatemala, after his own defense counsel confirmed his address during an appellate hearing on March 20, 2025. The specified address was Edificio Centro Empresarial, Torre I, Penthouse, Quinta Avenida 15-45, zona 10, Guatemala City.
Bosch formally acknowledged notification of Resolution No. 73-2023, nearly two years after its issuance. The document, signed in Guatemala City on May 22, 2025 and notarially authenticated by a Guatemalan attorney, declared that Bosch would not provide any testimony before the Public Ministry, invoking Article 8(g) of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 25 of Panama's Political Constitution. Formal notification removed the procedural obstacle that had impeded the case's progress, although Bosch chose to exercise his right to silence.
Lisa requested the Prosecutor to order an on-site inspection of GALA's offices after more than thirteen months of noncompliance with the order to produce accounting records. The inspection seeks to have prosecutors present themselves directly at GALA's offices to obtain Villamorey's financial records for 2019-2024. This compulsory enforcement mechanism reflects the exhaustion of ordinary request channels in the face of passive obstruction that has blocked the financial evidentiary line of the investigation.
| Date | Document | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 22 2023 | Resolution 73-2023 | Public Prosecutor |
| Jun 22 2023 | Summons | Public Prosecutor |
| Aug 24 2023 | Official Notice 2138-23 | 11th Civil Court |
| Nov 14 2023 | Resolution 593 | Public Prosecutor |
| Dec 26 2023 | Official Notice | 7th Civil Court |
| Feb 8 2024 | Interview Record | Public Prosecutor |
| Jun 3 2024 | Resolution | Public Prosecutor |
| May 27 2025 | Notification | Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez |
The criminal investigation remains open and in the investigative phase. The next steps depend on obtaining Villamorey, S.A.'s financial records through the requested inspection of GALA, and on the eventual formal indictment of Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez pursuant to Article 280 of the Criminal Procedure Code.