Alleged pyramid scheme DMG, whose head David Murcia has been extradited to the U.S., is part of a coalition party which has successfully registered Jairo Calderon as a candidate for Colombia’s presidential elections.
Jairo Calderon is the leader of Partido Apertura Liberal-DMG, a coalition of political party Apertura Liberal and DMG, the alleged pyramid scheme that defrauded hundreds of thousands of Colombians of their savings. Calderon is registered as a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled at the end of May.
“We represent the people, the people that want progress in Colombia and want independent parties with independent candidates. We are not sponsored by a bank or a monopoly or any other large employer,” Calderon said following his official enrollment.
“The authorities don’t care about the interests of the people, they care about the interests of the few who have monopolies and big business in Colombia, and we are going to change that. We’re not going to get rid of the rich, we’re going to get rid of the poor. We’re going to pull people out of the mud and put the government in their service,” Calderon added.
Calderon is a former Bogota councilman and former secretary of the Cesar government. He announced last year that if elected he will initiate a reform of the current Colombian banking system and make sure that those who lost their money when DMG was forced to shut down can continue their “investment.”
Despite fleecing thousands of Colombians of their hard-earned pesos, DMG is still popular in Colombia.
DMG leader David Murica was extradited to the U.S. on money laundering charges but he remains popular among many poor investors, who see him as a Robin Hood figure who gave them more for their money than the Colombian banks.
Murica was extradited in January along with right hand man William Suarez. The extradition of top DMG associate Margarita Pabon was approved by the Colombian Supreme Court yesterday.
Another DMG leader, Jobanny Burbano, is registered as a vice presidential candidate for Apertura Liberal-DMG in the 2010 elections.