MEXICO CITY — A bitter struggle between a Trump Organization hotel business and the owners of the Panama City hotel that carries the Trump name escalated on Monday when the Panamanian authorities announced that they had begun a formal investigation into the dispute.

The country’s Public Ministry said in a brief statement that it was looking into whether there had been any “punishable conduct” in the matter. The decision came in response to a complaint filed with the ministry on Friday accusing Trump executives of illegal “encroachment” on the property, the ministry’s statement said.

The owners association has been trying for months to dump President Trump’s company, which manages the property, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, blaming the Trump company and brand for declining revenues.

The Trump Organization’s involvement in the hotel began well before the property officially opened in 2011. But Orestes Fintiklis, a Miami-based investor whose firm bought a majority of the hotel’s units last year, has led the charge to drive it out. The owners association voted last year to end its relationship with the Trump company, and the sides entered into arbitration in October.