Home confinement was imposed for the four people involved in the case due to their particular conditions.
Within the framework of the strategic direction defined by the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, in his fight against corruption, the Branch Office in Risaralda charged two public servants of the municipality of Marsella (Risaralda) and two private individuals with execution of contract without compliance with legal requirements, violation of the legal or constitutional rules of incompatibilities and disqualifications for alleged irregularities in the execution of a contract.
The charges were brought before the Court of mixed jurisdiction* Marseille. Those people involved are:
- Alberto Rivera Cifuentes, mayor of the municipality
- Héctor Darío Montoya Arroyave, secretary of the municipal government
- Albeiro de Jesús Colorado Murillo, legal representative of the Association of Communal Boards of the municipality
- Nelson Rivera Cifuentes, legal representative of Cooperativa de Transportadores de Marsella Ltda.
People involved did not plead guilty to the charges. The facts under investigation took place in January of this year and are related to the hiring of the transportation service that would allow students to be transported from the rural settlements to the municipal schools.
It is under investigation whether the requirements of the National Transport Statute (Estatuto Nacional de Transporte) regarding the contracting of school transport, as well as the requirements and principles established for public contracting and the administrative function, were affected.
The contract would be for COP 175’352,689 and was signed with the Communal Boards Association of Marsella (Asociación de Juntas de Acción Comunal del municipio de Marsella), a non-profit entity that apparently lacked the suitability, experience and financial capacity to assume the responsibility.
With this hiring, the legal process and the legal requirements were allegedly ignored since the company, which was legally constituted and with the capacities to provide the service, is represented by the current mayor´s brother. This condition prevented direct contracting due to their consanguinity. Moreover, in order to evade the norm, a front man was allegedly used, in which Cooperativa de Transportes de Marsella Risaralda Ltda, allegedly executed the contract.
Therefore, it is presumed that executing a contract without the compliance with the legal requirements could have evaded the constitutional rules of incompatibilities and disqualifications since Cooperativa de Transportes de Marsella Risaralda Ltda, company that belonged to the governor´s relative, was subcontracted for that end.
The court of mixed jurisdiction of Marseille (Risaralda) imposed home confinement against people involved, taking into account the age of mayor Rivera Cifuentes (68 years) and Colorado Murillo (66 years).
Likewise, the judge took into account an underlying condition and Covid in the case of Montoya Arroyave and Rivera Cifuentes, respectively.
The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.
*Juzgado promiscuo in spanish.