The Prosecutor General’s Office announced it would investigate revelations that the auditor of Colombian soccer federation Fedefutbol, who was murdered in July, was also accountant to extradited paramilitary boss Sebastian Mancuso, reports El Espectador.
Former auditor of Fedefutbol Manuel Bernal Vargas was shot and killed north of Bogota on July 7 in what was described by the federaton’s president as an “act of common criminals.”
Bernals’ wife Angela Constaza Mora sparked speculation about other motivations for the killing after revealing that her husband had for a long time met with Salvatore Mancuso’s lawyer, Jaime Alberto Paer, twice a week in Medellin to assess the former paramilitary chief’s assets and organize his accounts.
Mancuso’s lawyer Joaquin Perez expressed concern over the killing of Bernal and suggested that it could be a warning from criminal gangs who do not want to see their properties and assets seized as part of the Justice and Peace process.
Fedefutbol president Luis Bedoya told El Espectador that he was surprised by the revelation and lamented the links between soccer and the mafia.
“We never aroused suspicion. He was a man well aware of the rules and was reappointed to office this year by the assembly, which consists of 70 representatives of professional and amateur clubs in the country,” Bedoya said.
“We can assure transparency in every way, we support any government policy so that these things don’t happen again, and we are available to the authorities, ” the president added.
Police chief General Oscar Naranjo said, however, that the fact that the soccer federation and Salvatore Mancuso shared the same accountant will cast further suspicion on the relationship between the sport and the mafia in Colombia.