23 developers fined for deceptive advertising

A block to speculation has been the prohibition to advertise residential projects for which no construction permit has been issued. As the Ice Tower project showed many investors, reservation fees are kept by the developer for a number of months and the builder deems the project "not viable" or if not enough units are sold, the fees are returned to buyers without any interest.
According to the Panama City Municipality website, the builders of 23 projects have been fined for up to US$100,000 per project for infringing municipal urban development regulations, incurring in deceptive advertising and deceiving buyers ("infringir las normas municipales de urbanismo, incurrir en la práctica de publicidad engañosa y estafar a los compradores"), as allowed by Law 6 of February 1, 2006, modified by law 45 of October 31, 2007.
According to the La Prensa February 1 print edition, some of the projects fined are:
Mystic Villas
The Plaza Costa del Este
The Plaza Obarrio
The Ritz
Altos del Golf Bijao
The World Gallery
Altos de Colina Campestre
Coral Hill
Park Plaza
PH Bambú
The Pavillion Tower
Alcalá Tower
The Municipal Engineering pointed out that all projects must have a pre-approved plan before advertising at home fairs, billboards or the media.