This Wednesday, August 7, the hearing for the request for a precautionary measure against Olmedo Lopez, Sneyder Pinilla and Luis Eduardo Lopez Rosero for the case of alleged corruption of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD).
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During the session, the deputy prosecutor María Cristina Patiño, who is leading the investigation, requested a precautionary measure of preventive detention in a prison against those involved.
According to Patiño, The three defendants face sentences of up to 22 years in prison.but in the case of López Rosero the sentence would be reduced by a quarter because he does not have the status of public official.
To put it in context, the scandal at UNGRD began when local media revealed in February the alleged embezzlement of 46.8 billion pesos (about 11.7 million dollars) in the purchase of 40 tanker trucks to bring drinking water to desert areas of the Caribbean department of La Guajira.
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Added to this is the revelation that money from that entity was used to pay bribes to the former presidents of the Senate, Iván Name (Green Alliance), and the House of Representatives, Andrés Calle (Liberal Party) and other congressmen in exchange for support in Congress for the social reforms of President Gustavo Petro.
So things went as planned, on July 25th The prosecuting authority charged the defendants (López, Pinilla and López Rosero) with five crimes.: conspiracy to commit a crime, embezzlement by appropriation, undue interest in the conclusion of contracts, falsification of public documents and falsification of private documents.
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