Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office called former Agriculture Minister Andres Felipe Arias for questioning over the alleged illegal granting of government subsidies to powerful families.
The former minister will have to answer for his role in the Agro Ingreso Security scandal, which saw money meant for poor farmers end up in the pockets of beauty queens, wealthy and politically powerful families, and former paramilitaries.
Arias and his successor are both under criminal investigation, suspected of having used government funds to seek popular support for the failed 2010 re-election of former president Alvaro Uribe.
A new fact in the scandal came to light earlier Tuesday, with the revelation that the director of Proexport, the organization in charge of the promotion of Colombian exports and tourism, was a recipient of the subsidies.