CK Hutchison subsidiary slams Panama over ‘unnotified intrusion’ at storage site

A subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings has accused Panamanian authorities of undermining due process by making an “unnotified intrusion” at a facility storing materials related to ongoing legal proceedings. The Panama Ports Company (PPC) on Friday accused the country’s government of creating a crisis, calling the “illegal takeover” of two port facilities at the Panama Canal a failure to comply with “constitutional, contractual and international obligations”. The former operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports issued a statement a day after Panamanian media reported that local authorities had searched one of the company’s offices. Boxes of documents were seen being taken away during the raid. In a ruling last month, the Panamanian Supreme Court declared that a law approving the ports concession held by PPC was unconstitutional. PPC said on Friday that the company and its investors had strongly emphasised to the Panamanian government their objection to the “illegal takeover” of the ports and the “occupation” of its property, which included seizing “proprietary and legally protected information”. “PPC also specifically requested the state to establish clear coordination mechanisms regarding access to, custody and protection of its proprietary and privileged information as a private company, including information that is not relevant to the operation of the port operations,” it added. “Rather than any form of clarification or coordination of protection mechanisms, the state took even more extreme steps to take the property of PPC [on Thursday] through an unnotified intrusion on a private storage facility with proprietary and material subject to legal privilege compiled in the context of ongoing legal proceedings, demonstrating that the state has undermined due process as part of its takeover.” The company also slammed Panamanian authorities for multiple actions that it argued showed a failure to comply with its “constitutional, contractual, and international obligations, including in relation to the protection of investments, due process and legal security”. Such actions included orders by the Panamanian government to stop the operation of terminals at the two ports on Monday, as well as the “intrusive invasion” of PPC facilities, it said. “PPC and its investors expressly and continuously reserve all applicable rights related to this crisis generated by the Panamanian state,” the company said. Panama’s takeover caps a year-long dispute over control of the two ports on the key shipping route, which has become a flashpoint in the geostrategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing. United States President Donald Trump earlier vowed to “take back” the canal from what he claimed was Chinese control. The dispute also intersected with a separate attempt by CK Hutchison to sell more than 40 ports worldwide in a deal with a consortium led by US asset management giant BlackRock and shipping group MSC. The deal drew Beijing’s ire, and Chinese regulators subsequently launched a comprehensive antitrust review in late March 2025, effectively halting the sale. Reports also indicated that Beijing sought a greater role for state-owned shipping giant Cosco in any arrangement involving the Panama terminals.