Investigators found more than a billion pesos (US$500,000) in cash in the
home of Senator Alirio Villamizar Afanador, vice-President of the
Conservative Party, Caracol Radio reported Thursday.
The senator is suspected of having received government bribes in 2006 in exchange of his support in Congress for a constitutional change needed to allow President Alvaro Uribe a second term in office.
The senator was accused by the former superintendent of notaries of having received notary offices for his support. According to the radiostation, a second witness now corroborated the story of the former official.
The houses of Villamizar Afanador and Senator Juan Manuel Corzo, also of the Conservative party, were searched Wednesday to look for evidence in the case against the lawmaker.
In a press statement on the senator’s website, Villamizar Afanador said he was fully cooperating with the Supreme Court and respects the court’s decision to investigate him.
