Appeal Hearing for Former Tax Chief Publio De Gracia Rescheduled

A technical failure delayed the appeal hearing of former Directorate General of Revenue chief Publio De Gracia in Panama. The hearing will resume on Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Plaza Fortuna headquarters of the Accusatory Criminal System.

The proceeding could not continue because authorities failed to connect De Gracia through the digital system used by prisons. His lawyer, Gladys Quintero, said the connection to the former official could not be established from the detention center. The Judicial Office then notified the parties that the hearing could not proceed.

De Gracia remains under investigation for alleged unjustified enrichment and money laundering. His appeal will be reviewed when the hearing resumes at Plaza Fortuna.

The same session did resolve the position of his co-defendant, Elaine Salterio. The Appeals Court unanimously upheld an earlier decision requiring her to report periodically. Prosecutors had sought to revoke that measure and replace it with preventive detention, citing allegations that she received more than $170,000.

Salterio’s lawyer, Sarai Blaisdell, said the court found that prosecutors had presented “more arguments than evidence” to justify a harsher measure.

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more arguments than evidence