Colombia’s sports federation is considering suspending Bogota soccer club Santa Fe over its suspected involvement in laundering drug money.
Jairo Clopatofsky, director of Coldeportes, told Caracol Radio his organization could suspend the club for half a year or more if there is evidence that the club laundered money for drug traffickers.
The sports official said he had formally asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to inform him of any legal evidence, so that the federation could take action.
However, according to Clopatofsky, there is at present only speculation about the club’s link to a major cash haul made in the Colombian capital earlier this week.
“We need tools. We are not going to act under pressure or irresponsibly. We will not act without having solid facts, because all are innocent until the opposite is proven,” the official told the radio station.
Santa Fe is under criminal investigation after the alleged owners of $29 million and €17 million in cash seized by Police on Monday are suspected of having had money invested in the club.
According to newscast CM&, police conducted a raid in the offices of the Santa Fe on Thursday and confiscated the club’s financial records for investigation.