Murcia made $15 million in Panama

PANAMA. The company of jailed Colombian businessman, David Murcia, registered earnings of $15 million between 2006 and October 2008, according to preliminary investigations by the Attorney General’s office.

This is excluding earnings of the David branch of his company, DMG Grupo Holdings S.A., which have yet to be investigated.

This figure is far below the assessed viability of the DMG holdings of $28 million. But it is far more than the 1.6 million that has been recovered from Panamanian banks to date.

According to attorney William Parodi, the claim for damages by Panamanians against Garcia now stands at around $4 million.

Victims say Garcia accepted their money to invest in DMG but never registered it in their names.

Investors are protesting that they still have not received compensation for the money they lost.

Panamanian authorities who are trying to auction off his belongings, including a flotilla of luxury cars and his yacht, to raise funds to pay off victims, say so far they have had no offers. The next auction is scheduled for 2 October.

Murcia is the main shareholder and legal representative of DMG Grupo Holding S.A., a business that the authorities accuse of illegal business dealings including money laundering and pyramid schemes.

He has been in La Picota jail in Columbia since last Nov.