Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Ricardo Martinelli: former Panama president not guilty of spying.
A Panamanian court has cleared the former president Ricardo Martinelli of political espionage during his administration and ordered him released from house arrest.
The three-judge panel declared Martinelli not guilty on Friday of charges stemming from the purported spying on the communications of at least 150 people and of the alleged misuse of public funds to purchase the equipment to carry out the intercepts during his 2009-2014 administration.
Prosecutors had been seeking a 21-year prison term. Martinelli declared his innocence.
Source: The Guardian
Odebrecht eyeing Panama energy project.
Having participated in the construction of the second terminal at Panama’s Tocumen international airport and the second line of the metro, Odebrecht has now expressed interest in a project to shore up power dispatch capacity in the country.
The Brazilian group is one of 20 firms that submitted inquiries to state power transmission company Etesa in the tender to build and put into operation the Panamá III-Sabanitas 230kV line and associated substations.
The US$100mn, 47km link would reinforce transport from Colón province to capital Panama City, ahead of new natural gas-fired plants being planned for the province.
This would not be Odebrecht’s first power sector venture in Panama, where the group led the construction of the third transmission line and the Dos Mares hydroelectric plant.
Source: Business News America
Panama Canal will not block Venezuela vessels despite U.S. sanctions.
The Panama Canal will allow vessels coming from Venezuela to transit the waterway provided they present the necessary paperwork, the canal authority’s chief said on Wednesday, suggesting a new round of U.S. sanctions on the South American country may not make any difference to canal traffic.
President Donald Trump’s administration last week issued an executive order freezing all Venezuelan government assets in the United States. Shortly thereafter, U.S. officials ratcheted up threats against companies that do business with Venezuela.
The measure did not explicitly place sanctions on non-U.S. firms linked to Venezuela, but it threatened to freeze the U.S. assets of any person or company determined to have “materially assisted” President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
Source: KFGO
Five important steps to take to open a bank account in Panama.
Offshore investment remains steady in Panama, and that means lots of opportunities for business and banking. One of the most functional and feasible options in this region when it comes to business, retirement, or relocation is to open a Panama bank account as soon as you can.
Panama has long had a reputation for secure offshore banking, and has very favorable laws for both offshore investors, and residents. If you want to open a bank account in Panama, however, you’ll need to do a few things ahead of time to prepare. The process is much easier than practically every country in Latin America, and with a small investment and a good lawyer, this can be done quickly, and painlessly. Here are 5 solid steps you’ll need to take before you open a bank account in Panama:
