Former Official Exposes Bribery Scandal Involving High-Ranking Colombian Officials

In an exclusive interview with Semana magazine, a former official in Colombia has revealed that he used money from the state National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) to pay bribes to high-ranking officials, including President of the Senate Iván Name and President of the House of Representatives Andrés Calle. The purpose of these bribes was to ensure the approval of social reforms presented by the government in Congress.

Snyder Pinilla, former deputy director of UNGRD, made this shocking revelation on Friday. He claimed that he paid Name 3 billion pesos and Calle 1 billion pesos in cash to support health, pension and labor reforms. This money was supposed to come from a contractor who was tasked with purchasing tanker trucks for water supply in La Guajira, but the project failed due to technical issues. Pinilla also implicated other officials, including the former director of UNGRD, the Minister of Interior, and an advisor for the Regions.

In response to these allegations, the Colombian government issued a statement reiterating its zero tolerance for corruption and ordered an investigation into misuse of public resources with support from the United States Embassy. Pinilla further revealed details about how the bribes were delivered, including involvement of a high advisor acting as a messenger for Senator Name. Despite denials from Name and Calle, Pinilla’s defense attorney stated that he is willing to return embezzled funds.

Pinilla’s revelations have sparked calls for resignation of Sandra Ortiz – advisor for regions – and further investigations into corruption allegations against Name and other accused officials continue to deny any wrongdoing while defending their integrity in public service. Investigations are ongoing to uncover full extent of corruption scandal and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

This scandal has caused shockwaves in Colombia as it implicates high-ranking officials and affects President Gustavo Petro’s government. It remains to be seen how this will affect his presidency as well as his ability to implement his policies effectively.

The Colombian people are demanding justice and transparency over this matter as they have lost trust in their leaders due to this corrupt practices that undermine democracy and violate public trust.

It is important that all those involved are held accountable for their actions through legal proceedings so that similar incidents do not happen again in future