The former director of the Urban Development Institute (IDU) will face trial after pleading not-guilty to corruption charges in the Bogota public works corruption case on Wednesday, El Espectador reported.
Liliana Pardo rejected four charges against her that included embezzlement and the fraudulent awarding of public works contracts to the disgraced Colombian construction company, Nule Group.
The widespread corruption scandal, implicating Bogota mayor Samuel Moreno among many others, broke out in the fall of 2010 when a tape recording surfaced appearing to illustrate bribery and corruption over the issuance of public works contracts.
Pardo says she is willing to face court, where she could receive a 15-year jail term if found guilty.
According to the prosecution, “acts of corruption” have cost the district of Bogota more than $107 million due to road infastructure contracts issued to the Nule Group, many of which contain numerous irregularities.
Ousted comptroller Miguel Angel Moralesrussi and former IDU legal assistant Inocencio Melendez Julio were also in court Wednesday, with a further 33 public servants due to face preliminary investigations over back-door dealings in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, Mayor Moreno’s brother, Senator Ivan Moreno Rojas, rejected Nule Group claims that he received a large commission on public works contracts, while last week a judge ordered the seizure of $160 million worth of assets from the Nule Group after they fraudulently filed for bankrupcy earlier in March.
