Criminals could be allowed to keep 5% of the value of property confiscated by authorities, according to a new bill passed through Colombia’s Congress.
According to the critics, drug traffickers and other criminals that surrender property to the authorities in order to achieve a plea bargain could be allowed to keep up to 5% of the property’s value.
Colombia’s assistant Prosecutor General Jorge Perdomo told Caracol Radio that the controversial article was included in a reform of regulations regarding the confiscating of criminal property because the government wants to encourage people to expose themselves to authorities.
Additionally, the new law could speed up the acquisition of land that could be used in the context of the agrarian reform that Colombia’s government and the country’s oldest rebel group FARC have agreed on during ongoing peace talks in Cuba.
MORE: Colombian government and FARC reach deal on agrarian reform
Another article of the law determines that 50% of the revenues generated by confiscating property will be invested to strengthen judiciary institutions.
Sources
- Aprobada en último debate reforma a extinción de dominio (Caracol Radio)