A man at the center of the ongoing Colombian UNGRD scandal says he used crypto to deliver around $1 million of bribes to leading lawmakers.
El Colombiano reported that Colombia’s Supreme Court has launched a probe into the pair – both former assembly leaders. They are accused of accepting bribes to “secure support for government reforms.”
New ‘Crypto Bribery’ Element to UNGRD Scandal
Prosecutors say former Senate President Iván Name and the former lower house leader Andrés Calle were paid with funds “diverted” from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
The UNGRD is a disaster relief fund. It provides humanitarian aid to the victims of natural emergencies.
The headquarters of UNGRD, Colombia’s disaster relief fund. (Source: Noticias RCN)
The case has been ongoing for much of the year. But this is the first time the former UNGRD executives at the center of the case say they used cryptoassets.
El Colombiano quoted Sneyder Pinilla, UNGRD’s former deputy director, as stating that he “converted” an intended bribe of “around 1 billion pesos” into cryptocurrency” to “avoid suspicion.” The media outlet quoted Pinilla as saying:
“The money was transported from one place to another using cryptocurrencies. I delivered 1,000 million pesos here. And they delivered 1,000 million pesos to me in Montería. […] Because you cannot take 1,000 million pesos on a plane to Montería.”
Calle lives in Montería, a city in the Colombian north. The city is around 780km from the capital Bogotá. Pinilla allegedly continued:
“I had to find a way to get the money to Montería. And what was the best way? Via cryptocurrencies. Why? Because you [take money] to one place and the next day they deliver it to you in another place.”
‘You Can’t Take That Amount of Money onto a Plane’
Pinilla said he bought the crypto in mid-October last year and then “delivered the cash” to one of the lawmakers’ apartments “on October 14, 2023.”
The court has yet to appraise Pinilla’s comments. But media outlets have decried “corruption on a massive scale”
Pinilla says he gave Name some $667,000 and handed over around $222,000 to Calle at a time when they led the Senate and the lower house.
Pinilla and the former UNGRD director Olmedo Lopez claimed that the lawmakers responded by pledging their support for President Gustavo Petro’s 2024 budget proposal.
Prosecutors say that Name and Calle “apparently” intended to use the money to finance campaigns for upcoming elections.
Lawmakers Deny Allegations
Name and Calle have both denied taking money from UNGRD officials. Pinilla and Lopez, meanwhile, are facing trial on separate charges, after allegedly “receiving bribes from a government contractor.”
Pinilla claimed that he acted on orders from Lopez. Media outlets claim Name and Calle are now “expected to be summoned for questioning” in the days ahead.
However, the case appears to have been complicated by talk of a plea deal between the prosecution and the former UNGRD executives.
Colombian media outlets say that such a deal could help Lopez and Pinilla receive reduced sentences.
Pinilla did not specify the type of crypto he allegedly used. Nor did he explain whether he used a well-known crypto exchange or an underground “brokerage” service.
The timing of the news could not be worse for the Colombian crypto community. Earlier this year, the government announced plans to regulate the nation’s fast-growing crypto industry.
Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla, speaking at the World Economic Forum in January, said:
“There is much to talk about and plenty to regulate when it comes to cryptoassets.”
Colombia currently ranks fifth in crypto adoption in the LATAM region, per the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
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