Complaints for alleged irregularities in the contracts for the acquisition of 40 tank trucks by the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (Ungrd) for the distribution of water in La Guajira continue to spark controversy. On this occasion, Sneyder Pinilla, former deputy director of the entity, has pointed out several congressmen possibly linked to the case, among them the president of the Senate, Iván Name, and the president of the Chamber, Andrés Calle.
According to a letter filed by Luis Moreno, Pinilla’s lawyer, before the Prosecutor’s Office, a collaboration matrix is presented for the requested opportunity principle process. In addition to Name and Calle, the letter also mentions Ungrd contractors, the former director of the entity Olmedo López, the former deputy director Víctor Andrés Meza, and the deputy director Luis Carlos Barreto.
Senator Name reacted quickly to these accusations through an official statement, requesting that the Prosecutor’s Office receive Pinilla’s statement on the alleged acts of corruption in which he is related. Name stated that, as soon as he becomes aware of the content of Pinilla’s demonstrations, he will proceed to file criminal complaints against him, if appropriate.
Investigations into this case have been ongoing by the Comptroller’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecutor’s Office for weeks. The resignation of Olmedo López from the Directorate of the Ungrd last February, being replaced by Carlos Carrillo, former councilor of Bogotá, marked a milestone in the development of the investigations.
The acting comptroller, Carlos Mario Zuluaga, revealed that the Delegate Comptroller’s Office for the Infrastructure Sector began a preliminary investigation into the alleged cost overruns in the purchase of the tank cars, which has been declared of national impact and is currently underway under the Unit of Special Investigations for the Fight Against Corruption.
The Prosecutor’s Office, for its part, has deployed judicial police procedures to support the preliminary investigation into the acquisition of the vehicles. In a recent statement to the media, Zuluaga reported that he freely cited Olmedo López and former deputy director Víctor Andrés Meza, the latter accused of having links to the irregularities detected.