Lawyer frauds in Panama casting shadow in Canada

03-24-2009 | STAFF

Dishonest lawyers are affecting the image of the country in Canada, said consul

Panama Star PANAMA. The image of the country has been tarnished at international level due to a firm of lawyers that has conned Canadian citizens, who were planning to emigrate to Panama.

The General Consul of Panama in Toronto, Ontario,, Gilberto Boyd said that he has put forward his concerns to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which currently is investigating the complaint.

Boyd decided not to reveal the name of the firm in question or the names of the Canadian citizens affected by the fraud.

The Canadians were in Panama trying to buy properties and go through the immigration process.

The complaint was put forward on the eve of the next Expo Canada and it is likely that the people affected will carry out some sort of process.

Panama’s legal system has come into question on numerous occasions and foreigners, who do not speak Spanish have a tough time trying to find a lawyer, whom they can trust.

The main obstacle most foreigners encounter is that they do not have any idea of what is going on and have to rely on second hand information coming from lawyers, interpreters and real estate agents, who not always have their client’d best interests at heart.

Firms of lawyers that advertise on the Internet often offer immigration and real estate services, but there is no way to find out if they are legitimate or not, which is a on detriment to the clients.

Canada and Panama have been negotiating a free trade agreement for the last few months and this sort of incident does not help.