Corruption cost Colombia’s disaster management agency UNGRD more than $60 million since 2022, acting Comptroller General Carlos Mario Zuluaga told weekly Cambio.
In an interview, Zuluaga told Cambio that 20 people were involved in a corruption ring that embezzled UNGRD funds through outsourcing.
Among these suspects are three former directors, according to the comptroller, who called the agency a “disaster.”
In the unit there is a contracting scheme that favors third parties, contractors that do not perform adequately and there is a cost overrun in almost all processes.
Acting comptroller general Carlos Mario Zuluaga
According to Zuluaga, his watchdog found that the embezzlement of funds became systemic after the UNGRD changed internal regulation on outsourcing and advance payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency additionally implemented measures that made it difficult to track payments made by the UNGRD.
Colombia’s government and congress rocked by embezzlement scandal
An initial revision of the UNGRD’s book after a corruption scandal broke in February revealed that some 2,500 boxes with signed outsourcing contracts were missing.
Zuluaga told Cambio that he believed the files were disappeared in order to monitor contractors’ compliance with contractual obligations and conceal corruption.
Despite the missing files, Comptroller General investigators found that the bulk of UNGRD-sponsored projects ended up with only three companies, said Zuluaga.
Twenty of the businesses that were contracted by the UNGRD since 2020 operate in provinces where there have been no disasters or where the risk of disasters is low.
The Comptroller General’s Office plans to interrogate the 20 (former) UNGRD employees allegedly involved in the agency’s corruption.
Among the former officials are Javier Pava, who was appointed by President Gustavo Petro in August 2022, and Eduardo Gonzalez, who was the UNGRD chief under former President Ivan Duque.
The prosecution pressed criminal charges against Pava’s successor, Olmedo Lopez, and could expand its investigations.
