The investigation into a wiretapping scandal by a member of presidential candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga’s campaign has been picked-up by Colombia’s Deputy Prosecutor General, Colombian media reported on Thursday.
The wiretapping case was handed over to Colombia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Jorge Perdomo, who has been given the task of looking into possible criminal ties between Zuluaga and his former campaign worker, Andres Fernando Sepulveda, according to Colombia’s El Colombiano newspaper.
The complaint was originally filed by senator for the Democratic Pole, Ivan Cepeda, who said that the wiretapping scandal was a threat to the peace process.
“The peace process is a concern, and it is a goal of the Nation. To perform actions, plots, or conspiracies is threatening this process,” said Cepeda.
“In my view it is a form of treason, and I believe that there are other tasks, such as spying or encouraging espionage, [that are] violating the privacy of individuals,” he added.
The Deputy Prosecutor General will be looking into whether Zuluaga could be related to intelligence information that was obtained illegally, which apparently was collected by Sepulveda in office interceptions raided by the CTI north of Bogota.
Sepulveda was arrested and admitted to the wiretapping incident in May of this year.
MORE: Zuluaga campaign worker admits to wiretapping Colombia peace talks: Report
The controversy of the alleged and denied wiretapping thickened days before the 2014 presidential elections when a video was released online by news magazine La Semana. It showed Zuluaga being informed by Sepulveda on strategic campaign advances and progress made in the peace talks with the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
MORE: Zuluaga’s claims that video is fake are false: Prosecutor General
Zuluaga claimed the video was fake and edited, and he may be asked to testify about this incident in the coming weeks.
