Gaby Carrizo’s defense seeks forensic review of audit days before indictment hearing

José Gabriel “Gaby” Carrizo’s defense has asked Panama’s courts to subject a government audit to forensic examination just days before his indictment hearing.

The request concerns an audit by Panama’s Comptroller General that led to an investigation into alleged aggravated unjustified enrichment involving $1.9 million. Carrizo’s lawyers presented the motion during a rights hearing before a guarantees court on Tuesday.

They asked specialists from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences to examine the comptroller’s report. The defense sought the measure even though the Superior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had already completed its investigative phase.

The guarantees court ruled that the request came too late. The Public Ministry is preparing to formally submit its indictment, with the next hearing scheduled for Monday, Sept. 7.

That hearing will move the criminal case into a new stage under Panama’s accusatory criminal system. Prosecutors must set out the facts they attribute to Carrizo and the evidence supporting the accusations before the court decides whether he will face trial.

Carrizo served as vice president during Laurentino Cortizo’s 2019-2024 government. The investigation followed findings in the comptroller’s audit, which was later sent to the Public Ministry.