Panama’s Superior Appeals Court upheld provisional detention measures against five people under investigation in Operation Pandora, a case involving alleged fraud of more than $40 million within the tax system. The court also ordered a sixth defendant, who had been under house arrest, to be placed in provisional detention.
Eight other defendants decided to withdraw the appeals they had filed against the precautionary measures, meaning that the measures previously imposed will remain in effect. The only exception involves a woman who will remain under house arrest for humanitarian reasons related to head surgery she underwent in 2025.
Although the house arrest mandate for the accused was upheld, the magistrates concluded that she is deeply tied to the matters currently being scrutinized and mandated that she wear an electronic tracking device throughout the progression of the legal process. The ruling was handed down by the Superior Appeals Court of the First Judicial District.
The Prosecutor’s Office had requested that the detention measures remain in place, arguing that procedural risks still exist. Among the reasons cited was the possibility that certain evidence could be compromised while several investigative procedures remain pending.
Investigators still need to gather interviews, banking information and documentation related to companies connected to the operations under investigation. These elements could help establish how the alleged structure operated and determine the involvement of the individuals under investigation.
The case centers on the supposed improper use of the Tax Authority’s E-Tax 2.0 platform. Based on the prosecution’s hypothesis, the system might have been tampered with to handle and siphon off tax credits, generating financial damage to the Panamanian state that tops $40 million.
Among those who maintained their appeals until the end are former Tax Authority officials Karina Suárez, Margie Caballero, Juana Chong and Vielka Sáez, as well as Juan Omar Palacios. The latter is accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of having received more than half a million dollars from a company allegedly acting as an intermediary within the scheme under investigation.
During the hearing, Sáez and Chong denied having known about the existence of a criminal organization within the tax administration. Both stated that the files involving tax credits had already arrived authorized and that their role was limited to completing administrative procedures, without participating in the approval of the transactions under investigation.
The investigation currently involves 21 people facing allegations of crimes including money laundering, organized crime, document forgery and corruption of public officials. However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has warned that the scope of the investigation could expand to approximately 50 people.
The investigation was triggered by an internal audit conducted by the Tax Authority, uncovering discrepancies between tax records and transactions displayed on the E-Tax 2.0 platform. The discoveries encompassed transactions lacking supporting documentation, the cancellation of prior transactions, and alterations regarding tax credits and the beneficiaries of tax remittances.
The investigation led to more than 20 simultaneous raids in Panama City, Panama Oeste, Colón and Coclé, where Tax Authority officials and private individuals were arrested. Authorities are seeking to determine who authorized the transactions, how the alleged structure operated and where the funds obtained through the disputed tax credits may have gone.
According to the prosecution’s hypothesis, part of the money may have been distributed in cash in an effort to make it more difficult to trace. For this reason, the analysis of bank accounts, companies and financial transactions remains one of the main lines of investigation to determine whether additional people were involved and whether the financial damage exceeds the amount initially estimated.
Following the Superior Appeals Court’s ruling, the primary preventive measures stay active while the inquiry moves forward. The Pandora case continues as one of the most prominent recent probes into suspected corruption tied to Panama’s tax system, both due to the sheer volume of individuals under scrutiny and the scale of the estimated financial damage sustained by the state.
Source: Infobae — Infobae, “Panamanian justice confirms detention of defendants in $40 million tax fraud case”
