Summary.
The draft bill amends Article 254 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal) of the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). That provision would impose a prison sentence of five to twelve years on anyone who, personally or through another person, receives, deposits, negotiates, transfers or converts money, securities, assets or other financial resources while reasonably foreseeing that they derive from the criminal activities listed in the article. The conduct includes acting to conceal or disguise the resources’ unlawful origin, or helping someone avoid the legal consequences of those offenses. The amendment adds sports corruption offenses to that list alongside the other activities it contains.
The text proposes a new Chapter XIII, titled “Sports Corruption Offenses,” within the title concerning offenses against the economic order. It adds Article 288-K to that chapter. The article would penalize anyone who, directly or through another person, offers, promises, gives, requests, receives, grants or accepts an improper advantage of any kind. Those acts must be intended to improperly alter, influence or predetermine a sports competition organized under the conditions described in the article, concerning a recognized institution, a team affiliated with a national or international federation, or the national team in any category.
Article 288-K covers alteration of both the final result of an official sports competition and a specific event occurring during it. Its examples of such events include cautions, statistics and incidents on which betting markets operate. For the specified conduct, it provides imprisonment for two (2) to four (4) years and disqualification, for the same period, from participating in official competitions or holding management or technical positions. The penalty would increase by one third to one half if managers or technical staff commit the offense by abusing a position of trust, or if the conduct affects athletes under eighteen (18) years of age.
Proposed Article 288-L would penalize a person who manages or works for a sports entity and fails to report to the competent authorities facts known to that person that constitute the sports corruption offense under Article 288-K. The penalty would be imprisonment for six (6) months to one (1) year, or an equivalent penalty in day-fines or weekend detention. Article 5 restates the proposed amendments and additions to the Criminal Code, while Article 6 provides that the law would take effect upon its promulgation in the Official Gazette.
The draft bill concerns the authorities competent to receive reports and apply the criminal provisions. It would reach sports entities, national and international federations, affiliated teams, national teams, athletes, managers and technical staff; it could also be of interest to betting markets tied to events in sports competitions.
What it proposes.
- Sports corruption offenses.
- Addition of those offenses to Article 254 of the Criminal Code.
- Duty of people who manage or work for sports entities to report known offenses.
Who it would affect.
- People who offer, give, request or accept improper advantages to alter sports competitions.
- Managers and technical staff.
- People who manage or work for sports entities.
- People who carry out the financial resource transactions described in Article 254.
Key points.
- Adds sports corruption offenses to the activities listed in Article 254 as sources of assets; that article provides for imprisonment of five to twelve years.Art. 1
- Adds Chapter XIII, “Sports Corruption Offenses,” to the title concerning offenses against the economic order.Art. 2
- Penalizes offering, promising, giving, requesting, receiving, granting or accepting an improper advantage to improperly alter a sports competition under the stated conditions.Art. 3
- Covers alteration of the final result and specific events in a competition, including events on which betting markets operate.Art. 3
- Provides for imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years and disqualification for the same period, with an increased penalty for abuse of trust by managers or technical staff or conduct affecting athletes under eighteen (18) years of age.Art. 3
- Penalizes failure to report known facts constituting the sports corruption offense by a person who manages or works for a sports entity.Art. 4
- Restates the amendments and additions to the Criminal Code and provides for commencement upon promulgation in the Official Gazette.Arts. 5-6