The president and vice president of Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol are being investigated for embezzlement, reported La W Radio Thursday.
Ecopetrol President Javier Gutierrez and Vice President Pedro Alfonso Rosales have been criminally denounced for the alleged offense of embezzlement.
More than a billion dollars have allegedly been unaccounted for in a project at the refinery Reficar in the coastal city of Cartagena. Orlando Cabrales, president of Reficar, told La W Radio that the approved budget of the project was $4,854. He added that the initial budget of $3,777 “had very large flaws.”
Cabrales said that this had not included security, laboratories and water supply, which were added to the new project. “This class of project has unexpected aspects from those that were officialized two months ago,” said Cabrales.
The current investigation looks to determine whether or not the cost overruns were of intentional fault. As of now, there has been no valid explanation to account for over one billion dollars used during the project.