THE  FORMER  rector of the University of Panama,(UP),  who ruled the institution  like a personal fiefdom with his hands tightly controlling the purse strings, for over  15 years, has been placed under ho use arrest and prohibited from leaving the country.

Gustavo García de Paredes  is charged with aggravated embezzlement  related to  alleged  anomalies in the rental of 21 hectares of land  near Tocumen International Airport to  the Atlantic Pacific Consortium. The land belonged to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.

According to an audit carried out by the Office of the Comptroller General, the university lost  $8.5+ million in the rental of the lands.

The investigation by  the Public Ministry  was prompted by a series reports in La Prensa revealing the rents of land under the ex-rector’s administration.

He is also under investigation for alleged irregularities  in work done in the Dental Faculty.