In the midst of a scandal that shakes the Colombian political sphere, the Prosecutor’s Office announces the indictment of charges against three prominent figures linked to President Gustavo Petro for their alleged participation in the delivery of 500 million pesos from the Colombian Federation of Education Workers ( Fecode) to Petro’s electoral campaign.
The people named are the current president of Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa, who served as campaign manager; the superintendent of Public Services and former president of Colombia Humana, Dagoberto Quiroga; and the president of the Fecode Executive Committee, William Velandia. The Prosecutor’s Office is also evaluating certifying copies to the House Investigation and Accusation Commission against President Petro himself for the same facts.
(You can also read:
The indictment of charges will take place in the coming days before a judge of guarantees, and those involved will face accusations related to the violation of spending limits in electoral campaigns and the financing of campaigns with prohibited sources. In addition, the possibility of charging charges for document falsification and procedural fraud is being considered.
After months of investigation into the financing of the campaign, the Prosecutor’s Office, accompanied by the team of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI), has collected sufficient evidence to present the case before the judges. The controversy revolves around the delivery of 500 million pesos from Fecode to the Petro campaign, a movement that tried to circumvent the rules by passing the funds first to Colombia Humana and, from there, to the campaign coffers.
The maneuver has been discovered as an alleged irregularity, since documents and minutes reveal that, from the beginning, it was recorded that the final destination of that money was to support Petro’s candidacy. The authorities point out that Fecode, as a legal entity, could not make direct contributions to presidential campaigns, but only to political parties, which has led those involved to face possible accusations.
In the case of William Velandia, president of Fecode, he is held responsible for proposing and approving the contribution, aware that it went against electoral financing regulations. For his part, Dagoberto Quiroga, former president of Colombia Humana, is accused of using the political movement as a channel to outsource the 500 million pesos allocated to Petro’s campaign.
Ricardo Roa, current president of Ecopetrol, faces a complicated panorama, since he is also accused of alleged unrecorded contributions from businessman Euclides Torres and is involved in another scandal related to the handling of dark money on the Caribbean coast, confessed by Nicolás Petro.
You might be interested in:
The law establishes that, in cases of financing electoral campaigns with prohibited sources, the campaign manager may face prison, fines, and disqualification from the exercise of public rights and functions. In the case of violation of spending limits, the penalties are similar.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that there is clear evidence of violation of the electoral limits, since the millionaire contribution from Fecode was not recorded in the campaign account books presented to the National Electoral Council (CNE). In addition, the possibility of procedural fraud is being investigated due to the apparent manipulation of accounting to hide said contribution.
The evidence obtained during inspections of the headquarters of Fecode and Colombia Humana, as well as the office of the contractor Ingenial Media SAS, supports the accusations that have led to the imposition of charges. Official documents, contracts and testimonies have been collected, and the judicial process is intensifying.
President Petro’s response was immediate, proclaiming himself the victim of an alleged conspiracy. However, the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office, including the certificate signed by the Fecode prosecutor and the contracts that detail the destination of the funds, reinforce the consistency of the case.
We recommend you read:
This scandal threatens to increase political tensions in Colombia, as the Prosecutor’s Office advances its investigations. The coming days are shaping up to be a turbulent period, with accusations that could affect not only the accused, but also President Petro himself, who would face the possible certification of copies before the Accusation Commission.