Italian entrepreneur Matteo Quintavalle, who had an international warrant out for his arrest for allegations of fraud and illegal financial intermediation, showed up in court in San José yesterday.
“I've been in an apartment three blocks from my house in (the western suburb of) Escazú. I don't know where these stories came from that I was somewhere else,” Quintavalle told members of the press upon arriving to court.
Police couldn't find Quintavalle after they raided his home and other properties last week, and an international arrest warrant was issued for the millionaire, who has been accused by 17 U.S. investors of cheating them with unauthorized deposit slips for a nonexistent bank (TT, July 13).
Some authorities suspected he had escaped to Panama, and others told the daily La Nación that he may have been hiding out in the northwestern Guanacaste town of Santa Cruz, where he is revered by residents for having donated a wall for the local soccer field, among other acts of support.
Quintavalle said he didn't show up in court last week because judicial offices were closed and many court employees were on vacation.
Judicial Branch spokesman Fabian Barrantes said Quintavalle was waiting for a judge to decide if any preventive measures would be issued against him as the case proceeds. |
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