Judge rejects prosecutors’ request to seize former vice president José Gabriel Carrizo’s apartment

A Panamanian judge has ruled illegal the seizure of the apartment where former Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo lives, rejecting a measure sought by the Public Ministry in an investigation into alleged unjustified enrichment.

Prosecutors argued that the property was connected to the case because some of its latest payments were made between August and September 2019, after Carrizo had begun serving as a public official. The defense countered that the apartment had been acquired before he became vice president.

Defense lawyer Roberto Moreno said the property’s purchase promise was signed on May 23, 2019, and the title deeds were issued on June 18. Carrizo took office on July 1, 2019. Moreno said prosecutors needed authorization from a guarantees judge to carry out the seizure and argued that an unjustified-enrichment charge must be assessed against the period when a person served as a public official.

The defense said the apartment had been acquired through a pledge-guarantee arrangement and that the payments came from a fixed-term deposit of about $2.3 million already held by Carrizo’s family. Carrizo remains under house arrest while the investigation continues.

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The Public Ministry had to have authorization from a guarantees judge.