Colombian prosecutors accuse former presidential candidate of taking money from Odebrecht

Colombian prosecutors have accused a former presidential candidate of receiving at least $2.8 million from Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted paying bribes across Latin America to secure infrastructure contracts

By MANUEL RUEDA Associated Press
July 10, 2023, 3:28 PM



FILE - Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, presidential candidate for the Democratic Centre, speaks during a debate ahead of primaries in Bogota, Colombia, Jan. 25, 2022. Zuluaga, a former finance minister, who came close to winning the 2014 election, was charged in a public hearing on Monday, July 10, 2023 with the crimes of fraud, graft and falsifying documents, in relation to the construction firm Odebrecht. The former candidate for the Democratic Center party, pleaded innocent. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File))

The Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombian prosecutors accused a former presidential candidate Monday of receiving at least $2.8 million from Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted paying bribes across Latin America to secure infrastructure contracts.

Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, a former finance minister who came close to winning the 2014 election, was charged with fraud, illicit enrichment and falsification of documents. Charged at a public hearing that lasted four hours, Zuluaga pleaded innocent.

Prosecutors said Zuluaga met with Odebrecht executives prior to the 2014 presidential campaign and agreed to a scheme through which the construction company helped pay for the services of a political strategist, using accounts in Panama. Officials said Zuluaga did not report the Odebrecht contributions with Colombia’s National Electoral Council, as required by law, and instructed his son, who was then his campaign manager, to hide those funds.

Zuluaga was a close ally of conservative Alvaro Uribe, who was president in 2002- 2010 and is still one of Colombia's most influential politicians. Uribe, who leads the Democratic Center Party, headed off a second presidential run by Zuluaga last year, expressing concern about his possible ties to Odebrecht.

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