The Mayor Bogota has asked the Office of the Prosecutor-General to investigate actions of his son’s alleged involvement in contract irregularities.
Sources close to the Mayor insist that his intention is to dispel any doubts about the actions of his son, Nicholas Petro, following rumors that Nicholas had influenced the appointments of contracts in Bogota.
Some of these rumors involve alleged favoritism in contracts signed by the administration, including one related to the extension of the Integrated Mobility System contract, which former Secretary of Transportation, Rafael Rodriguez, and former General Secretary of the Mayor, Susana Muhamad, are also being investigated for, reported Radio Santa Fe.
The Office of the Prosecutor General will now decide if there is sufficient merit in the case. “What we want is to check whether it is true or not what some sectors are saying,” one of the officials told Colombia’s Semana newsmagazine.
Petro requested the investigation following “several rumors that have circulated in various media” according to W Radio. Petro has maintained that his son is faultless.
This is not the first time the Petro name has been involved in scandal.
Gustavo Petro was removed from office in December 2013 due to alleged “irregularities” that were uncovered in his attempts to transfer the city’s privatized garbage collection system into public hands. This allegedly resulted in almost 10,000 tons of uncollected garbage left on the streets.
As a result, Colombia’s Inspector General, Alejandro Ordoñez, decided to dismiss the city’s mayor and ban him from serving in public office for 15 years.
MORE: Colombia’s Inspector General dismisses Bogota mayor over trash collecting scandal
Petro appealed the decision many times, though all of his “tutelas” or writs of protection were denied by Colombia’s State Council.
President Santos subsequently signed off in spite of an inter-American human rights commission order to refrain from impeaching the elected official. A lower court later declared that move illegal after which Petro was re-instated.
MORE: Court orders Santos to reinstate dismissed Bogota mayor
Within the past twelve months Gustavo Petro has been transformed from a figure relatively unknown outside of Bogota into Colombia’s internationally recognized political martyr. He was recently named one of the top 8 mayors in the world by Huffington Post and holds what is considered to be the second most important position in Colombian politics.
MORE: Petro listed among top 8 mayors in the world despite 58% disapproval rating