One of the most mentioned names after the revelation of the corruption case in the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD)in addition to the former director, Olmedo López, has been the one Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Ricardo Bonilla.
And the current head of the portfolio appeared mentioned in the testimonies of the former director of the UNGRD regarding this case, who assured that he would have participated in a apparent diversion of 92 billion pesos in contracts for legislators in exchange for voting in favor of key bills for the current Government in the third commissions. However, the President Gustavo Petro He came forward and defended one of the most important members of his cabinet.
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“He is an honest minister, he has no money, he is not a rich man, he does not give Isagen, he does not do business for the rich.“, the head of state said.
Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance.
In fact, Petro called attention to the negative interpretation that has been given to the fact that congressmen ask for works for the regions they represent..
“So now it is bad because they asked the Minister of Finance for three projects for their respective towns, but it was great when they asked hundreds and thousands of projects to Mr. Rudolf Hommes, in the government of César Gaviria, or to Mr. Juan Manuel Santos, in the government of Andrés Pastrana, or the thousands and thousands of billions that came from the royalties of Ocad Paz, from royalties in general.“, added the president.
How much income has Minister Bonilla reported?
Petro’s defense, more specifically, by saying that Bonilla is not a wealthy person, It caught the attention of different sectors of opinion and opponents who even doubted that the head of the Treasury portfolio does not have a large fortune..
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For this reason, the EL TIEMPO Data Unit reviewed the assets or property that the minister has made public or that he currently has in his name, according to what has been declared in the Application for Public Integritya platform where all public officials must upload their reports on assets, income and conflicts of interest.
In his most recent declaration of assets, income and conflicts of interest, dated October 31, 2023, Bonilla declares that for the immediately preceding taxable year he obtained income of 115,800,000 pesos.
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Nevertheless, The document does not clearly specify the origin of said income or the details of assets or properties in his/her name..
Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance.
Likewise, Bonilla has indicated in his statement that he does not have trusts or other types of investments in the country or abroad. Likewise, He assured that he had no participation in boards or companies and declared that he does not carry out any type of private economic activity..
From these statements it is highlighted that, previously, on April 28 of the same year, had published a declaration of assets very similar to the most recent oneonly that for that previous occasion, the amount of income varies by 76 million pesos, for that date, had reported assets of 191,843,000 pesos.
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Another difference that could be seen between the April and October declarations, both already when he was acting Minister of Finance, is that in the most recent one he included his son, Leonardo Bonilla Mejíaas a family member with the potential to generate a conflict of interest, He currently works as a researcher at the Bank of the Republic..
were the assets that Bonilla reported in his last declaration of assets, income and conflicts of interest, dated October 31, 2023.
Likewise, Bonilla has made public his first declaration of assets, income and conflicts of interest. when he was a contractor at the National University of Colombiaon September 13, 2022, and once again, his income report is above 115 million pesos. In total, the current portfolio manager reported 115,799,665 pesos.
The statement also shows that he has no other private activities and does not register any property or assets in his name. In fact, EL TIEMPO also investigated the Index of Owners and Certificate of Non-Ownership of the Superintendence of Notaries and Registry and found that, to date, there is no real estate property linked to his citizenship card.
BRIEFCASE
*With information from EL TIEMPO – DATA UNIT
