“Nothing illegal” in $3.4 million hand out -Deputy

ONE of the Democratic Change (CD),  deputies who received checks from a construction company granted a multi million dollar contract during the Martinelli administration says   there was nothing illegal in pocketing the checks ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, totaling $3.4 million.

The statement came from Mariela Vega, referring to the checks she and CD colleagues received from the company Transcaribe Trading, S.A., in charge of the expansion of the Arraiján-La Chorrera highway, work that is the object of an investigation in the Public Ministry.

According to audit reports of the Comptroller General she received $30,000 which she said was “a campaign donation”, received through management checks.

Payment was issued on April 23, 2014, through check 010736, according to the audit of the Comptroller’s Office, reports La Prensa.

The deputy claimed that “we had the right to receive donations from natural and legal persons. ” There is nothing illegal. We are not part of the investigations,”

According to Vega, the worrying aspect of the situation is the leakage of “confidential” information to a “means of communication,” either by the Comptroller or the Public Ministry.

In April 2014, just a few days before the general elections of that year, the company

Transcaribe Trading, S.A., issued checks in favor of deputies of the National Assembly and candidates for that position. These were the deputies Yanibel Abrego, Carlos Afú, Héctor Aparicio and Juan Manuel Poveda, of the CD party. Checks were also made to Elías Castillo of the PRD.

Democrats, and the candidates for a seat in the Legislative at that time, Mariela Vega (today deputy) and Porfirio Ellis, also of CD.

The checks, according to an audit of the Comptroller’s Office, left the account 45-101- 23368-5 from TCT at Global Bank, where this company deposited money from factoring operations “for infrastructure works and road construction”.

The investigation, which the Comptroller gave to the MP for the research related to possible overcharging on the rehabilitation of the road, further reveals that from the same account Felipe Pipo Virzi and Mike Btesh also received payments. Both are immersed in multiple corruption investigations.