Martinelli accuser returns $20 million to government

BUSINESSMAN Cristóbal Salerno, who claims to have made cash deliveries of millions of dollars in kickbacks to former president Ricardo Martinelli, has returned more than $20 million that the company Cobranzas del Istmo received in 2014 as a commission from Tocumen S.A., the entity that operates Tocumen International Airport.

The company received the payment as a commission when Tocumen paid back fees it owed the government.
Cobranzas had been hired by the government to collect delinquent taxes on a commission basis, but the payment from Tocumen prompted a criminal investigation as the government shouldn’t have to pay a commission on money it essentially owes itself.
Salerno has implicated a number of government officials in the case, including former Revenue Director Luis Cucalón, who issued the company the contract, and former President Ricardo Martinelli. Both men allegedly received millions in kickbacks from Salerno.
Prosecutors are planning to question Salerno’s daughter, María Alessandra Salerno, who is also facing charges reports La Prensa.