The former Secretary General of Colombia’s Agriculture Ministry was released from prison where he was held awaiting trial for his role in the AIS agricultural subsidy corruption scandal, Colombian news station W Radio reported Wednesday.
Juan David Ortega’s defense lawyers argued that their client had spent 117 days in jail without judicial proceedings being brought against him. The argument was accepted by a judge in charge of collating sufficient evidence to bring cases to trial and Ortega was released.
Ortega was charged with appropriating funds and issuing contracts without meeting legal requirements. He was sent to Bogota’s La Picota prison late April.
Through the scandal, financial resources intended for poor, rural, agricultural families ended up in the hands of some of the richest land-owning families in Colombia.