PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Inocencio Galindo, Omar Rodriguez, Maria Eugenia Brenes and Joy Paull Torres, Morgan & Morgan
actions, whether to perform, delay or omit any act related to their duties. • Inducement to bribery (Article 352 of the Crimi - nal Code): a public servant induces someone to improperly give or promise money or another bene - fit for their own benefit or that of a third party. Under Article 354 of the Criminal Code, influence ped - dling involves the act of using one’s influence, or pre - tending to have influence, to solicit, receive or accept promises, money, goods, or any other economic or legal advantage. This is done with the aim of obtain - ing a benefit from a public servant or a foreign public servant of an international organisation in a matter they are managing or may manage. These crimes must be committed intentionally, mean - ing that the public official who receives the bribe must be aware that they are receiving a benefit as a conse - quence of not fulfilling their obligations, thus favouring the briber. These crimes are punished with imprison - ment and aim to protect the proper functioning of pub - lic administration. Applicable Accessory Penalties In addition to imprisonment, the person who receives the bribe is sanctioned with accessory penalties of disqualification from holding public office and the con - fiscation of the money, goods or objects received as a result of the bribery. 3.3 Anti-Bribery Regulation In Panama, there is legislation aimed at preventing bribery and influence peddling. This includes (among others): • Law 23 of 2015 (and its amendments) on the pre - vention of money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which creates obligations on financial and non-financial obligated entities; • the Anti-Corruption Law; and • the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Additionally, there are regulations that relate to codes of ethics for public officials and integrity pacts that companies contracting with the State must sign. There are also disqualification rules in public contracting that
apply to companies and their directors who commit (among other things) falsification and crimes against the public administration. Supervisory bodies will verify compliance with the mechanisms for AML/CFT control, adopting a risk- based approach that allows for a clear understanding of the risks to which the obligated party is exposed. For this supervision, the bodies may request informa - tion and documentation from the obligated compa - nies. When implementing a risk-based approach, obligated parties must establish processes to identify, evalu - ate, monitor, manage and mitigate the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The obligations for obligated parties in accordance with Law 23 of 2015 and its amendments and regula - tions are as follows. Registration Obligation Obligated parties must register with the relevant Superintendency, according to the procedure and Obligated parties must designate a person or unit responsible for serving as a liaison with the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) and the relevant Superintenden - cy. Until such a person or unit is appointed, the legal representative (in the case of entities) or the natural person will perform the liaison function. The liaison will have the function of attending to the requirements and requests of the UAF and the Super - intendency. The registration of the liaison will be regu - lated, in the case of vehicle traders, by the Superin - tendency, which will issue the guidelines and other functions that the liaison must fulfil. Obligation to Adopt a Prevention Manual Obligated parties must implement and adopt an AML/CFT manual that allows for the implementation of policies, procedures and controls necessary to reduce exposure to the risks identified in their own risk assessments. This manual must be approved by fees it establishes. Liaison Obligation
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