Minister wants bargain price land returned to the state

Panama’s Minister of Economy and Finance Alberto Vallarino has asked  Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi to take possession of 30 hectares of land in Punta Chame that was sold to Rodolfo Charro Espino in 2004.

Vallarino says that the transaction was illegal because the transfer lacked the endorsement of the Comptroller. The comptroller at the time, Alvin Weeden, refused to endorse the sale of state property because the price was too low, around 5 cents a hectare.
The request was based on a provision in the tax code which stipulates that the state has the right to retrieve all property that has not legally left its possession.
Vallarino also asked for an investigation into how the sale was registered without the endorsement of the comptroller,  a requirement in the sale of state property.
Vallarino denied that he has asked for the resignation of Land Registry official Publius Cortés, who signed the 2004 order authorizing the sale of the property while he was deputy minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, says La Prensa