Draft bill 329.

Summary.

The draft bill proposes adding Article 253-A to the Criminal Code (Código Penal) to punish unjustified enrichment by a person who is not a public servant. The described conduct consists of obtaining, possessing or retaining property, assets or resources whose origin the person cannot justify in relation to legitimate income, economic activities or asset history. The article covers conduct carried out directly and conduct carried out through an intermediary. The proposed offense thus concerns the relationship between the origin of the property, assets or resources and the economic and asset circumstances of the person who obtains, possesses or retains them.

For that conduct, the proposed article establishes imprisonment of two to five years and a fine of up to one hundred percent of the value of the unjustified property, assets or resources. It also provides for imprisonment of five to ten years if the amount unjustifiably obtained exceeds two million balboas (B/.2,OOO,OOO.OO). The fine is tied to the value of the property, assets or resources covered by the offense. The imprisonment provision distinguishes the general case from the case in which the amount obtained exceeds the sum stated in the article.

The text authorizes the court to order forfeiture, in any case, of the property, assets or resources acquired without justification. That authority concerns the property, assets or resources whose origin is addressed by the proposed criminal provision. The article also makes the offense applicable to both natural and legal persons. It further gives the offense an autonomous character, independent of any other criminal offense that may also apply. The proposal therefore sets out the persons covered and the offense’s relationship to other criminal provisions in the same article that defines the conduct and its consequences.

Article 2 expressly identifies the legislative change as the addition of Article 253-A to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). Article 3 provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation. The amendment centers on that addition to the Criminal Code and on the rules governing conduct, penalties, forfeiture and application set out in the new article.

The proposal concerns the courts that would apply the criminal provision and public authorities involved in its enforcement. It could affect or be of interest to natural and legal persons who obtain, possess or retain property, assets or resources, as well as the economic sectors in which they conduct their activities.