Colombia’s Supreme Court called to trial Tuesday ex-senator Ivan Moreno, brother of jailed Bogota mayor Samuel Moreno, to face court over ongoing corruption charges.
Moreno was allegedly involved in a major public works scandal involving the awarding of public works contracts in the country’s capital city Bogota, the same scandal for which his brother is currently facing a jail term of up to 15 years.
The ex-senator has been awaiting trial from La Picota prison in Bogota and will be facing charges of extortion, bribery and undue interest in contracting.
According to the prosecution, Moreno had been accepting money for inappropriately intervening in the awarding of public works contracts, particularly to the disgraced Nule Group construction firm whose directors have also been charged with the scandal.
The trial will call to witness various members of the Nule Group, ex-congress person German Olana (who was also involved in the scandal), suspended Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno and the current Mayor-elect Gustavo Petro.
Petro, who until recently was member of the same political party as the former mayor, has asked that the two Moreno brothers be removed from the party, Polo Democratico.
Ivan Moreno was arrested in April over the corruption scandal, while a week later his brother, the then-mayor of Bogota, was suspended from his post by the inspector general.