A Colombian judge on Thursday declined to issue an arrest warrant for the ex-director of the government agency charged with redistributing assets seized from drug gangs (DNE), claiming the former director is not a threat to society.
The former director of the DNE, Carlos Albornoz, has been accused of mishandling seized assets while he was director of the DNE.
The judge who declined to issue the arrest warrant said that the Prosecutor General did not present sufficient arguments to merit the warrant’s issuance. The judge was not convinced that Albornoz represented a threat to society, an obstacle to justice or a flight risk.
“The essential conditions to impose an arrest order were not given. It was not demonstrated in the requiered form on the behalf of the Prosecutor General, nor by the Public Ministry,” said the judge.
“It can not be said [Albornoz] participated in this obstruction of justice…there is no proof and it was not a part of the case,” the judge continued.
According to the Prosecutor General, there were indications that computer files containing important information about the alleged misuse of funds had been “infiltrated.”
The Prosecutor General on Tuesday said that there was a significant risk Albornoz would not show up for the hearings, thus prompting the request for an arrest order.
The decision on Thursday does not mean Albornoz will not face charges, it just means he will not be held in custody throughout the duration of the impending trial.
