Anticorruption Prosecutor admits criminal complaint against former civil judge for breach of duties
Jun 23 2025
Public Prosecutor
Through Resolution No. 55-2025, the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office of the Accusatory Criminal System admits the criminal complaint filed by Lisa, S.A. against Lesbia Wolfschon Puga, former judge of the Eleventh Circuit Civil Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama. The resolution finds that the complaint meets the formal requirements of Article 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code and orders the commencement of the corresponding investigation.
Lisa, S.A. reported to the Prosecutor's Office that it initiated enforcement proceedings against Villamorey, S.A. before the Eleventh Civil Court, which issued Order No. 2567 of December 22, 2021, admitting the executive complaint. Villamorey, S.A. filed an appeal against that order, granted with devolutive effect. Under Panamanian procedural law, an appeal with devolutive effect does not stay the main proceeding. However, according to Lisa, S.A., the judge unjustifiably refused to act on party requests, thereby paralyzing the enforcement proceeding.
The Prosecutor's Office classifies the reported conduct as crimes against the Public Administration in the form of breach of public-service duties, pursuant to Article 356 and related provisions of the Panamanian Penal Code. This classification covers the conduct of refusing, omitting, or delaying acts inherent to a public official's duties in an illegal manner.
The Prosecutor's Office notes that the admission of the complaint is based on compliance with the procedural requirements established by law, without implying that the reported crimes have been proven. The facts will be investigated to establish elements of conviction that allow their substantiation at the corresponding procedural stage.
"Esta admisión se cumple en virtud tener por acatados los extremos de los requisitos de procedimiento, sin que se tengan por probados la comisión de delitos puestos bajo nuestro conocimiento" (Page 1)