The banana company Chiquita Panama is suing the mayor of the district of Changuinola, Estella Stephenson, as well as other officials of the Municipal Council, and individuals for the alleged crime of abuse of authority to the detriment of the public faith and public security, the latter in the form of illicit association.
The company also sued the last mayoral administration, of Virginia Abrego, for the same three crimes. Both criminal complaints are related to the division and sale of land that is part of the concession that Chiquita Panama maintains with the State.
The complaints, which also affect officials of the Land Administration Authority (Anati), were filed on June 7, and to date the Public Ministry has not admitted them.
The land divided and sold includes areas destined for the production of bananas, as well as for the administration of the company.
For example, the company has been able to detect five divisions registered by the Municipality of Changuinola within the administrative area of Finca 8, in Changuinola. The land - where the company's school and the courtyard of the administrative houses are located, and which is currently inhabited - has been sold to third parties, included natural and legal entities, such as Mehdy International, SA.
According to information obtained by the banana company, the representatives of Mehdy International are Amir Tariveh Romero and Masoud Tariveh, who are traders from Changuinola.
The modus operandi was the same: the Municipality divided the land and sold it to a person who, in turn, transferred it to a third party for the same price that he acquired it from the Mayor's Office.
In some cases the whole process was done in less than three months. The complaint against the current mayor, Estella Stephenson, states that, as proven by deed 450 of December 26, 2017, which was issued by the Special Notary's Office of Changuinola and was registered in the Public Registry on January 8, 2018, the Mayor's Office sold some land to Abdiel Diaz for the sum of $1,957.
Then, on January 17, Díaz sold the land where farm No. 30251405 had already been established to Guillermo Staff Aizpurua for a value of $ 2,000. A month later, on February 16, the farm was sold to the Chinese citizen Guinpin Pan for the same price.
After purchasing the farm, Guinpin Pan, wanted to occupy it, and that's when the banana company detected these irregularities, which they have now discovered have been carried out for at least twelve years. Some buyers have even mortgaged the farm, said Moises Bartlett, a lawyer for the company and the person who filed the criminal complaint.
He said the problem was quite serious because they have also discovered that the Anati official who approved the plans was the same person who did them. That is, he carried out private practices that, later, as an official, he approved.
A housing project is promoted in one of the lands that has been divided and sold.
According to Bartlett, these illegalities not only affect the company but also the State because it hurts the contractual commitments that it has acquired with the banana company.
Source: laestrella.com.pa