THE FIRST PROSECUTOR Against Organized Crime is appealing  against a Criminal Circuit Judge's refusal to declare “complex cause,”  the investigation known as New Business case, related to the purchase of Editora Panamá América (Epasa) during the administration of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli.

According to the Public Ministry , the origin of the investigation lies in a series of deposits made by a group of Panama businessmen, in two days, for the acquisition of the media group. The money which arrived via offshore banks is believed to have come from public projects.

In a statement, the Attorney General's Office (MP) explained that while the application is being resolved, a large number of diligences and investigative acts are being carried out to prove the last phases of this complex financial operation in which money of the Panamanian people was used.

"All persons linked to this investigation have at their disposal an effective collaboration agreement and penalty agreements, as a mechanism to resolve the legal situation and return the money in this case," the statement said.