Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado confirmed that arrangements for his extradition are being made in coordination with Panamanian authorities.
Manuel Alberto Coto Barrientos, general manager of the Santa Victoria de RL cooperative of Cosavi, a fugitive from justice, was captured in Panama this Saturday. Coto was accused by authorities in El Salvador of being one of the main architects of at least $35 million in fraud against COSAVI associates.
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“We thank the Panamanian authorities @ProtegeryServir “Those who give us all the support we need to quickly deport Manuel Alberto Cotto Barrientos and pay for the crimes committed in our country,” Delgado said on the social network.
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Coto's whereabouts have been unknown since May, when authorities announced investigations against 32 people, including eight directors, accused in special cases of crimes of defrauding the public economy, money and asset smuggling, money laundering and illegal groups.
Koto's connection with the partnership dates back to March 2012, when it was formed. He has held key positions like General Manager, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Treasurer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, as well as persons dealing with public documents and financial matters.
Manuel Cotto, as he was known, rose rapidly and gained a great reputation among some Salvadoran businessmen and politicians, according to sources.
The co-operative society grew rapidly during his leadership. In ten years, eight branches were established in El Salvador, and by September 2022, Manuel Cotto announced in an interview that he would open a new company in Los Angeles, California.
12 years ago, the savings and loan company was launched with 15 dreamers, including professionals and employees from the private sector,” says a review on the co-op website.
At the end of April 2023 the urbanization of Santa Elena in Antigua Cascatlan is one of their last agencies. A year ago, in 2022, during the celebration of the tenth anniversary, Cotto said that they will be transformed into a bank, a process that they will start in 2021, according to his statements to TVM El Salvador channel.
In addition: the assets of an advertising agency linked to the COSAVI case are immovable
The Superintendent of the COSAVI Financial System and the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic are being investigated for defrauding 35 million dollars. According to investigations, funds were diverted from the cooperative three years after operations began.
Officials indicated that the investigations began after they discovered that millions of dollars in capital had been transferred into accounts for the personal benefit of senior officials of the savings and loan association.
According to data released by the prosecutor's office, irregularities in the management of the cooperative's funds began in 2015 and were intervened earlier this year.
On the other hand, as confirmed by sources closely involved in COSAVI's management work in recent years, the cooperative did not warn savers that it was being investigated from previous years, and continued to receive funds from its clients.
The prosecutor's office pointed out that the directors increased their assets after coming to COSAVI.
Last May, 15 people were arrested in connection with the case, including Coto Barrientos' parents. Likewise, 46 properties, including several luxury residences, vehicles and assets worth more than $14 million, are immovable.
Aggrieved people are asking for “the full weight of the law to fall”.
After learning of Cotto's capture, the victims called on authorities to apply “the full weight of the law” and described the seizure as “something positive”.
“We ask that the full weight of the law should fall, because we are for this type of people, all those who cannot reap the fruits of their labor and people who are sick, the law falls,” they pointed out through the account of X victim Gosavi 2024.
They also note that the Superintendent of Financial Services (SSF) will go three weeks without paying back the new tranches and “responding to concerns” about them.
“We are expressing our concern as Supervisor Evelyn Gracias has not given any indication to open the stack and we are asking for action to be taken in this matter, this situation is distressing to our rescuers,” they said.
As of July 8, the SSF opened an eighth tier of income that allows those who have saved up to $10,000 to withdraw them. Till date this is the last level of deactivation by the company.
On June 16, they asked President Nayeb Bukhel to personally explain the problem they were facing as victims of the billionaire scam, though they indicated that they had not received a response.
In the request, they also ask that other methods of refunding be found, as the way it was done does not guarantee refunds to all savers.
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