Colombian police announced Tuesday that they have seized assets allegedly purchased with embezzled tax money by suspects in a billion dollar tax corruption scandal, El Espectador reported.
More than 100 properties have been seized that police claim were purchased using funds diverted from Colombia’s treasury. The properties are alleged to have been bought by officials at Colombia’s tax agency (DIAN) who embezzled at least $2 billion using false tax refunds during the Uribe administration.
At the same time, authorities announced that another suspect had been detained. Herbin Enrique MartÃnez is currently being held on suspicion of participating in the fraud. Martinez worked at DIAN for 19 years and was part of the evaluation committee that inspected tax refunds.
Of the 14 suspects already charged, 12 have denied all charges against them, and two, including the alleged mastermind Blanca Jasmin Bercerra, have pled guilty to some of the charges against them.