Official Notice 2138-23

Through Official Notice No. 2138-23 dated August 24, 2023, the Eleventh Civil Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama responded to a formal request from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Notice No. 4846/AES/ of July 27, 2023) in connection with the criminal investigation for alleged crimes against public administration in the form of embezzlement (File No. 202300033850). The court provided official certification on three aspects of Case 556-99, an ordinary proceeding filed by Lisa, S.A. against Villamorey, S.A., within which sequestration measure 7081-2008 was processed.

Court Certifications

The prosecution posed three specific questions. The court responded based on the procedural record of the sequestration file 7081-2008, forwarding authenticated copies as support:

• Designation as judicial depositary. The court confirmed that Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez was designated judicial depositary, referring to the record at pages 2150 and 2163 of the sequestration file.
• Filing of reports. The court certified that no evidence of reports of any kind submitted by Bosch Gutierrez could be found in the record. This omission is decisive, given that the Panamanian Judicial Code imposes on the judicial depositary an obligation to render accounts and reports on assets under custody.
• Request for removal. The court certified that no request from the plaintiff to remove Bosch Gutierrez from his position as judicial depositary appears in the record.

Evidentiary Significance

This official certification carries particular weight in the context of the criminal embezzlement investigation. Two months earlier, the prosecution had admitted the complaint filed by Lisa, S.A. and summoned Bosch to appear before the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. The judicial confirmation that Bosch never filed any depositary report directly supports the complaint's central thesis: that Bosch assumed the role of judicial depositary over assets belonging to Lisa, S.A. and retained those funds without fulfilling his legal obligations. One month after this certification, Lisa, S.A.'s counsel expressly invoked it in a clarifying brief to rebut objections raised by Bosch's defense.

Signatories

• Lcda. Lesbia Wolfschoon Puga, Judge of the Eleventh Civil Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama