Italian Matteo Quintavalle, who is accused of a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud, has until April 2 to pay a $300,000 bond or go back to jail, prosecutor José Martínez said.
A judge initially set the bond on Feb. 14 but Quintavalle’s lawyers immediately appealed. The judge rejected the appeal late last week.
Quintavalle has yet to be indicted in the case. He was arrested in July after more than 80 investors filed a criminal complaint, alleging he defrauded them of over $12 million for real estate developments on the Pacific coast.
Meanwhile, local and international authorities are still looking to arrest U.S. citizens Christopher Coulther, 37, and Robert Simmons Davis, 44. Both are exbusiness partners of Quintavalle who helped him line up investors.
Martínez and Interpol spokeswoman Mercedes Quesada said the hunt was on.
Coulther is in the United States, according to intermediaries who have contacted The Tico Times. Quesada said the United States and Costa Rica have an extradition treaty but it doesn’t allow either country to extradite their own citizens.
“They can’t be extradited while they are in their own countries but as soon as they leave, Interpol can have them arrested.”
