BRIEFS. government

11 of 14 ministries involved in corruption cases

Corruption penetrated 11 of the 14 government ministries during 2008, costing the government an estimated $3.7 million.

Those statistics were compiled from investigations opened by anticorruption prosecutors during the past 12 months. The largest of these investigations was the theft of $1.8 million from the Educational Quality Fund, administered by the Ministry of Education.

Prosecutors are also investigating crimes against property in 11 government ministries. These scams totaled some $863,000.

The Panama Canal Authority, the Panama Tourism Authority and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation were the ministry-level agencies that did not have any corruption investigations initiated during 2008.

Prosecutors are also investigating complaints in 28 other autonomous government bodies.

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