Colombia's great coronavirus heist Part 4: agriculture minister, 11 governors to court over corrup

by Adriaan Alsema May 7, 2020

Colombia’s Supreme Court will investigate one minister and 11 governors after the prosecution opened more than 1,200 investigations into alleged corruption with coronavirus emergency funds.

The Prosecutor General’s Office, the Inspector General’s Office and the Comptroller’s Office have been hit by a tsunami of corruption reports over alleged attempts to embezzle government aid.

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The big fishes
The prosecution sent the agriculture minister’s file to the Supreme Court because he allegedly used one of his ministry’s agency’s, Finagro, to send almost all of the funds he was given for subsidized credit to large agricultural firms.

Finagro was supposed to send at least 80% of its $56 million (COP226,000 million) budget to small and medium-sized farmers, Comptroller General Carlos Felipe Cordoba said initially.

. . .

According to the results provided by the three investigative bodies, their provisional joint task force proved surprisingly efficient, but also laid bare how profoundly corrupt Colombia’s political system is, even in times of crisis.

https://colombiareports.com/colombias-great-coronavirus-heist-1-minister-11-governors-to-court-over-corruption/