Colombia’s fiscal watchdog has launched an investigation into financial irregularities in five military contracts worth over $50 million.
Sandra Morelli from the Comptroller’s Office and Prosecuter General Viviane Morales will investigate after an internal audit from the Ministry of Defense revealed several contracts were severely overrunning or not being fulfilled and costs were mounting as the projects ran over budget.
The contracts under investigation include two modernization programs at military hospitals, one worth approximately $25 million, the other nearly $9 million, which have already overrun by several months.
Other projects involve the Buenaventura Maritime Tower in a contract worth $2 million, and the South East Hospital in Tintal, Bogota, which could end up costing nearly $6 million.
The last contract involved the purchase of batteries for military submarines for nearly $12 million. The company, which was recommended by high ranking members of the military, later declared it was incapable of meeting its contractual obligations.