Minister says allegations against president are political

LA PRENSA/Archivo

Cortés enfatizó que Martinelli obligó a los millonarios a pagar impuestos.

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• Intromisión del Ejecutivo en investigación judicial
• Gobierno rechaza publicación española sobre FP

02/01/2013 - Minister of Labor and Social Development Alma Cortés said today that allegations regarding President Ricardo Martinelli's connections to insider trading are political attacks.

She said she is concerned about the way the story has been handled by the media.

"The president of the republic is not candidate, which is why these attacks are unnessary," she said.

The minister added that attacks upon Martinelli have become personal, and that they are being done in retailiation for his crackdown on businesses that have been forced to pay taxes.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Rómulo Roux emphasized that the information published in Spain by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo on the Financial Pacific case was an exaggeration.

Roux said that the article was irresponsible because it could threaten the Panamanian financial system.

When asked about the possibility that Martinelli interferred with a judicial investigation, he declined to comment. But he added that he was sure that the necessary investigation would be done into the actions of Financial Pacific.