The Inspector General’s Office has initiated 40 investigations into 14 mayors and 6 governors for suspected contract irregularities.
Of the 14 mayors being investigated, six are from the capital cities of departments, including the mayor of Cali, Jorge Ivan Ospina, and mayor of Barranquilla, Alejandro Char.
The investigations are being moved forward on the direct orders of Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez, and form part of a strategy designed three years ago to combat corruption, newspaper El Tiempo reported Sunday.
A report from the Public Ministry details the advances of the investigations into the actions of the officials, stating that the reasons for the investigations are, mainly, “associated with irregularities in regards to their contracts.”
Some of the officials are being investigated in two separate processes, including Ospina, who is questioned for suspected irregularities in endorsing a number of field studies regarding 21 large-scale construction projects for a total of approximately $4.5 million (COP 8 billion).
