Bogota’s Government Secretary has said that people who falsely presented themselves as victims of floods in order to receive financial assistance will face fraud charges, Colombian media reported Thursday.
Government Secretary Antonio Navarro Wolff said “It constitutes a fraud and we are going to look at it judicially because they received public money.”
In order to verify the exact number of flood victims in the affected borough of Bosa, a census review is to be held Friday.
Navarro Wolff said “What we are going to do is review the census of the victims to see who is missing and who has committed fraud.” He added that there were cases in which families of six people presented themselves individually as victims, receiving $795 each.
The decision to hold a census review was made following a meeting between Navarro Wolff, the Secretary of Social Integration Consuelo Ahumada and representatives of Bosa flood victims.
The government secretary said that in Bosa the census indicates 10,600 flood victims. The Agrarian Bank has paid subsidies to 8,335 people.
Navarro Wolff also said that from January 31 the city of Bogota will give monetary housing assistance to families who were forced to relocate due to the floods.