The Panama Ports Company (PPC), the society of the group CK Hutchison of Hong Kong that manages the Panamanian ports of Cristobal and Balboa, has violated the terms of the contract of concession of the two harbour ports and must at least beyond 300 million dollars to the Republic of Panama. The general reviewer of the Panamanian accounts, Anel Flores, who accused the company of distorting the data and announced the presentation of criminal charges against its executives and public officials, first of all those of the Panama Maritime Authority, who signed the renewal of the concession with PPC.

Close to Donald Trump's resettlement to the White House and the intentions manifested by the new US president to reappropriate the Panama Canal, subtracting it - to his say - to the control of China, Contraloría General de la República de Panamá had started a financial investigation on the Panama Ports Company(of 27 January 2025). In the past few hours Flores presented the outcome of the investigation that would reveal contractual violations that would allow it not to pay more than 300 million dollars in the state coffers.

The general auditor of the accounts explained that, according to the first concession contract signed in 1997, the State received a percentage of the profits of the society, which increased every year, reaching 27 million dollars in 2002. Flores explained that in 2002 the contract was modified so that Panama received 10% of net profits instead of 10% of gross profits, variation according to which revenues for the State fell from 27 million in 2002 to 1.3 million dollars in 2003. Flores denounced that, if the terms of the first contract were kept unchanged, Panama would have had to receive $1.34 billion during the concession period, while it received only 483 million with a loss for the Republic of Panama in the period of $853 million. Flores said that other economic losses for the state were caused by the granting to the company of tax exemptions and the non-receiving of fees and amounted to another 350 million dollars. This - it has evidenced - in the face of an increase of the traffic of the container enlivened in the two ports and in the face of a profit declared from the company that remains practically unchanged.