The accusation against the former Minister of Finance Ricardo Bonilla will be formalized in the next few hours, as confirmed by the attorney general, Luz Adriana Camargo, who assured that the hearing has already been requested and will be in the hands of the deputy prosecutor María Cristina Patiño.

The diligence takes place within the framework of what is considered the largest corruption case of the current Government: the multimillion-dollar looting of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).

The Prosecutor’s Office had been announcing this accusation for months, while facing questions for allowing the escape of another alleged mastermind of the network: the former director of DAPRE, Carlos Ramón González, currently asylum in Nicaragua. With Bonilla, however, the accumulated testimonies have been sufficient to take the judicial step.

One of the most compelling stories is that of his former advisor, María Alejandra Benavides, who has total immunity after benefiting from a principle of opportunity. Benavides assured that he acted following orders and detailed how the Ministry of Finance had endorsed the delivery of million-dollar contracts to secure votes from congressmen in favor of the Nation’s international credits.

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The projects total more than $92,000 million pesos, with works in Cotorra (Córdoba), El Salado (Bolívar) and Saravena (Arauca). The Prosecutor’s Office, however, faces new criticism after it became known that Benavides’ computer disappeared from the Ministry without having been collected as evidence.

With documented meetings, internal communications and direct testimonies, the case is advancing towards a key stage that could further implicate the former minister in the biggest scandal of Gustavo Petro’s administration.

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