BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Colombia’s finance minister, Ricardo Bonilla, yesterday said he was committed to a rapid investigation into corruption allegations against him, amid graft accusations involving several officials in President Gustavo Petro’s government.
Bonilla was linked to a scandal concerning Colombia’s UNGRD disaster agency, which was allegedly instructed to bribe members of Congress to make sure they voted in support of government reforms.
“My legal team is working tirelessly to clarify all the aspects which may be required,” Bonilla said in a post on X, responding to another post by a local journalist, which said the minister’s defense team would hand over initial evidence to the attorney general’s office next week.
Bonilla protested his innocence earlier in the week, saying in a post on X he would “face any examination of my official actions with respect for justice.”
In May, Colombia’s Supreme Court called on then Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco to testify in a case involving the UNGRD’s former director Olmedo Lopez and former deputy director Sneyder Pinilla, who were allegedly involved in corrupt purchases of water tankers.
Both Lopez and Pinilla are giving evidence in exchange for immunity and protection.