Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office included the finance minister and other close allies of President Gustavo Petro in an ongoing investigation into corruption at disaster management unit UNGRD.
The investigations seek to verify accusations made by the two main suspects in the scandal caused by the apparent embezzlement of funds meant for risk management and disaster relief.
Under preliminary investigation
- Ricardo Bonilla (finance minister)
- Luis Fernando Velasco (former interior minister)
- Carlos Ramon Gonzalez (former director of planning agency DAPRE)
- Sandra Ortiz (former presidential adviser on regional affairs)
In a leaked court testimony, former UNGRD director Olmedo Lopez accused Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla and former Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco of ordering bribes for members of Congress.
“Colombia’s finance minister ordered bribes to grease hands in Congress”
Lopez’s former deputy, Sneyder Pinilla, accused Petro’s former regional affairs chief, Sandra Ortiz, and the former director of planning department DAPRE, Carlos Ramon Gonzalez, of ordering cash payments for the presidents of Congress.
The investigations against the Petro aides came days after the Supreme Court opened investigations into nine members of Congress for allegedly receiving bribes or embezzling funds.
Colombia’s prosecution adds 9 congressmen to corruption investigation
Lopez and Pinilla, the prime suspect in the corruption scandal, have been seeking immunity for their admitted involvement in bribery and embezzlement.
Both officials have publicly claimed that they were following orders from the government.
The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Wednesday that prosecutors will formally indict the two former UNGRD executives and reveal their initial findings next week.
The Supreme Court said that its president would assume all investigations against the implicated congressmen in response to the leaked testimony.
According to acting Comptroller General Carlos Mario Zuluaga, corruption at the UNGRD cost more than $60 million since 2022.
Zuluaga told press that the corruption at the UNGRD became systemic after changes made in the financial administration of the unit to streamline the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
