Criminal investigation into Coronado bank loans
A CRIMINAL complaint filed by investors of a real estate project in Playa Coronado has led to the opening of an investigation by the sixth anti-corruption prosecutor into loans made by the state-owned bank Caja de Ahorros during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli.
They had their building’s social area seized by the bank because it was used as collateral for a loan that was never paid.
Former board members with close links to ex-president Ricardo Martinelli including some employed by media outlets he controls, are the central figures in the latest scandal linked to the previous government.
Former board members Riccardo Francolini (chairman), Ricardo Chanis, Ricardo Arango, Fernando Correa and Anastasio Ruiz are being investigated, along with, Rodrigo Arosemena, the former deputy general manager of the bank and former Comptroller Gioconda Torres de Bianchini.
In 2013 The board approved loans totaling $5 million in which the social areas of two beach projects were used as collateral.
Former comptroller Torres de Bianchini was personally present at the meeting when the loans were approved, which usually occurs when the comptroller is particularly interested in a topic.
The criminal complaint claims the social areas of a building can’t be used as collateral for a loan, because it belongs to the investors. The other project involved in the case is in Playa Corona.
The projects were developed by Robert Rollón García, a Spanish businessman reported to be a friend of Martinelli