Two Panamanian lawyers requested on Monday that Panama’s Public Prosecutor’s Office investigate the whereabouts of $500 million contributed to the state in 2023, by a Canadian mining company that had to cease operations in the Central American country due to a court ruling last year.
Attorneys José Antonio Moncada and Heracleo Bustamante filed a criminal complaint asking the prosecutor’s office “to initiate the corresponding investigations to clarify the destination of these $500 million.”
The money was contributed to the state in 2023 by the mining company First Quantum Minerals as royalties and taxes, and the previous government of former President Laurentino Cortizo (2019-2023) had stated that it was frozen.
The mining company had to suspend operations following a ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court that declared the concession contract “unconstitutional” on November 28, 2023. First Quantum had been operating the largest open-pit mine in Central America in the Panamanian Caribbean since 2019.
Days before the ruling, the mining company announced the payment of $567 million in royalties, which were frozen in a National Treasury account, according to former President Cortizo.
“It is imperative to determine the criminal responsibilities that correspond and to prosecute those responsible for this possible embezzlement, which represents a direct harm to the state’s assets and the nation’s well-being,” the complaint states.
The current president, José Raúl Mulino, who succeeded Cortizo on July 1, said last Thursday that the mining money “has already been spent.” “The funds were used in the previous government, not in ours,” Mulino stated.
“We are demanding answers about where the funds belonging to all Panamanians are,” said attorney Bustamante. “I will ask all the authorities responsible for administering justice to make the necessary heads roll. I’m not talking about any particular person,” he added. The mine produced around 300,000 tons of copper concentrate annually, representing 75% of Panama’s exports and 5% of its GDP.
The approval by Panama’s Congress of the contract with First Quantum sparked protests that nearly paralyzed the country for five weeks. The demonstrations, organized by environmental and labor groups, accused the mine of polluting the environment.
