The inter-institutional coordination is the key in the fight against corruption

Within the framework of the panel ‘Avances en la lucha contra la corrupción’ (progress made in the fight against corruption) which was organized by the national association of entrepreneurs (Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia – Andi, in Spanish), the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, referred to the investigative strategy to combat acts of corruption in the public and private sectors of the country.

The Attorney General’s Office is conducting 52,000 prioritized investigations. “Currently, the Office of the Attorney General is detecting criminal phenomena that are linked to acts of corruption. We have achieved 7,938 indictments, we have requested 1,889 measures and obtained 1,300 convictions” stated the Attorney General Barbosa.

Among the processes in which significant progress has been made are those related to the alleged irregularities in the contracts under Covid -19 pandemic. In this context, 33 mayors were summoned for accusation; three governors and two councilors were prosecuted. In addition, more than 6,000 contracts have been reviewed.

Concerning another act of corruption, the Attorney General also pointed out that “In a year and a half, delegate prosecutors before the Supreme Court of Justice have prosecuted 6 governors that were elected in October 2019, and convictions have been obtained against 9 former governors”.

He specified that in this front “The strategy is not to act alone, but together with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Comptroller General. This way we are more decisive. We differentiate the aspects of corruption and we hold technical roundtables to prioritize”.

MinTic case

During his intervention in the panel, the Attorney General stated that due to the alleged corruption detected in a contract of the Ministry of Technologies and Communications, which amounts to $ 70,000 million to provide Internet in rural schools, the institution is conducting investigations.

“The case is prioritized and the national director against corruption leads it. There is already a group of special tasks, where the coordinator of Delegate prosecutors before the Supreme Court of Justice also participates, and we have lines of investigation for each of these events”, stated the Attorney General Barbosa.

Among the lines that must be developed is that related to public servants who were involved in structuring the evaluation process, in the process of the policies and the contractual documents, another line related to the institution or the contractor that presented the documents; another one about the issuance of the policies and another one to determine how the resources were transferred.

Sentence against Daneidy Barrera

Regarding the judgment delivered by the Superior Tribunal of Bogota that confirmed the conviction against Daneidy Barrera for acts of vandalism, the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa, stated: “deep respect for the judicial institutions. (…) The decision that was made, is a decision in accordance with the law and the Colombian legal system. It is a decision that must be respected and that sends a good message to the country”.

“I think it is a sentence that the Attorney General´s Office requested. We play a role, we are the main actors in these processes and we present evidence before the judge, and we go and support our decisions, and thus we juridically discuss the situations. (…) This is a great decision since we also send a message to society”, emphasized the Attorney General.

At the end of his intervention, the Attorney General Barbosa Delgado reaffirmed the importance of the coordinated work between the Office of the Attorney General and the Judiciary, as part of the Judicial Branch, to achieve results, and highlighted the need to respect judicial decisions as a main aspect of the institutional protection.

“Our purpose is to obtain accusations and convictions in the different procedural scenarios. This conviction is a good scenario to tell the country that justice is fulfilling its commitment and that there is a coordination between the Attorney General´s Office and justice in all the scenarios of the Judicial Branch”, concluded the Attorney General.