Colombia’s National Police began confiscating property on Tuesday belonging to a jailed former governor from the north of Colombia on trial for multiple homicides.
Fransisco “Kiko” Gomez, formerly governor of Colombia’s northern state of La Guajira, is currently on trial for his alleged role in five murders, and ties to neo-paramilitary groups dedicated to drug trafficking and contraband smuggling.
MORE: North Colombia governor investigated for murder
The order of seizure was issued by a unit dedicated to fighting money laundering. Police began with the confiscation of an upscale apartment building and garage in the Plaza Oviedo, Medellin. Gomez’ properties are said to be worth almost $150,000, and scattered throughout the country.
Due to irregularities in government contacts, the Inspector General has banned Gomez from holding political office for 17 years. The disgraced politician is currently being held in the La Picota jail in Bogota.
The Colombian Prosecutor General’s Office began looking at criminal allegations against Gomez following a journalistic expose of political corruption in 2012.
In 2011, President Juan Manuel Santos, and then-Interior Minister German Vargas, asked three journalists to investigate corrupt politicians and elected officials who had ties to illegal groups.
La Guajira
Sources
- Fiscalía inició ocupación de benes de “Kiko’ Gomez (El Espectador)
- Ocupan bienes de Kiko Gómez en varias zonas del país (El Heraldo )