President Cortizo accepted the resignation of Savings Bank GM Andrés Farrugia amid allegations
The president of the Republic of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo , announced this Friday that he has accepted the resignation presented by Andrés Farrugia to the position of general manager of the Savings Bank.
“In my administration you have to work as a team, in a disciplined way, especially executing the investment budget in a transparent way. The manager's decision is a very personal decision, I have accepted it," said Laurentino Cortizo, at a press conference.
The resignation comes after La Prensa published on April 8 that the Savings Bank opened an account in the name of former president Ricardo Martinelli, in December 2020, by direct authorization from Farrugia, despite the warnings presented by compliance officers. state bank, given the client's profile, their exposure as a “PEP” (politically exposed person), the investigations into corruption and money laundering that are underway in Panama and their mention in other investigations for the same causes abroad.
"For 30 years of working from sunrise to sunset to have as much or as little as I have, before joining this organization I already had an important heritage product of my work, product of my professional skills, product of the support of my partners, of people who appreciate me, of people who trust my abilities, my abilities and my good repute," said the banker.
In addition, Farrugia indicated that the decisions made by him and his team have been strictly attached to the processes, procedures and the law, ensuring that the Savings Bank, like most of the country's banks, is regulated by the Banking Superintendency of Panama and They maintain the correspondent who demand transparency, banks that provide financing lines and risk rating agencies and as part of the State this entity is under the scrutiny of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Farrugia was emphatic in pointing out that his decision to make his position available was made for his family, so as not to affect the bank or his collaborators and to face the legal processes that he has filed to clear his name. And he added that the statements made by the publications are incompatible with reality.
"Good people don't get into politics for that kind of thing. I shouldn't (make my position available) but I do it for the well-being of the organization," Farrugia said.
The manager also pointed out that he filed a criminal complaint against the person who is responsible for revealing bank secrecy and two civil lawsuits against the media, the newspaper La Prensa and the digital medium Foco Panamá, the first one published the transactions and the opening of accounts that allowed Farrugia to a former president and the second published the assets he recently bought.
On opening the account to Martinelli, Farrugia noted that the bank did not skip governance or approval scales. He affirmed that he also does not have the power to convict a person that the law "has not convicted."
"We have to act according to what the law allows us," he emphasized.
The resignation comes after La Prensa published on April 8 that the Savings Bank opened an account in the name of former president Ricardo Martinelli, in December 2020, by direct authorization from Farrugia, despite the warnings presented by compliance officers. state bank, given the client's profile, their exposure as a “PEP” (politically exposed person), the investigations into corruption and money laundering that are underway in Panama and their mention in other investigations for the same causes abroad.
"For 30 years of working from sunrise to sunset to have as much or as little as I have, before joining this organization I already had an important heritage product of my work, product of my professional skills, product of the support of my partners, of people who appreciate me, of people who trust my abilities, my abilities and my good repute," said the banker.
In addition, Farrugia indicated that the decisions made by him and his team have been strictly attached to the processes, procedures and the law, ensuring that the Savings Bank, like most of the country's banks, is regulated by the Banking Superintendency of Panama and They maintain the correspondent who demand transparency, banks that provide financing lines and risk rating agencies and as part of the State this entity is under the scrutiny of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Farrugia was emphatic in pointing out that his decision to make his position available was made for his family, so as not to affect the bank or his collaborators and to face the legal processes that he has filed to clear his name. And he added that the statements made by the publications are incompatible with reality.
"Good people don't get into politics for that kind of thing. I shouldn't (make my position available) but I do it for the well-being of the organization," Farrugia said.
The manager also pointed out that he filed a criminal complaint against the person who is responsible for revealing bank secrecy and two civil lawsuits against the media, the newspaper La Prensa and the digital medium Foco Panamá, the first one published the transactions and the opening of accounts that allowed Farrugia to a former president and the second published the assets he recently bought.
On opening the account to Martinelli, Farrugia noted that the bank did not skip governance or approval scales. He affirmed that he also does not have the power to convict a person that the law "has not convicted."
"We have to act according to what the law allows us," he emphasized.