2023-07-25 07:01:00
In exactly 10 days, next Thursday, August 3, Armando Benedetti must render a sworn statement before the Prosecutor’s Office in the framework of the investigation into the alleged illegal financing of the campaign of current President Gustavo Petro. It is not just any diligence, taking into account the dimensions of the scandal and that an adverse factor for the interests of the former ambassador will come into play: he no longer has diplomatic jurisdiction.
On July 19, after an extension authorized by Petro himself, Benedetti’s tenure as ambassador to Venezuela was extended from June 2 until last Thursday. However, during that time – apart from diplomatic work – the former official shared photos on his social networks exercising, visiting Madrid (Spain) and even in the final of the Champions League soccer tournament on June 10 in Istanbul (Turkey).
Now, without jurisdiction or in any diplomatic task, Benedetti must return to the country to answer to justice for the controversial audios leaked at the beginning of June, in which -during explosive conversations with the former chief of staff, Laura Sarabia- the former ambassador himself spoke of his efforts in the middle of the 2022 campaign to obtain resources in the order of $15,000 million.
Also read: Benedetti reappeared and assumed that he would stop being ambassador to Venezuela
“The moment I say who gave the money here on the Coast, I know what that mondá is. You, who don’t know a shit about history, read how the son of a bitch (process) 8,000 (…) How about someone saying, sucking a cock, who was the one who put the money here on the Coast?”, Benedetti was heard saying.
Although the former ambassador’s statement was scheduled for June 23, the procedure was postponed at the request of Benedetti who, during a meeting with a prosecutor delegated to the Supreme Court of Justice, told him that he could not comply with it due to threats.
According to the lawyer Juan Carlos Álvarez, professor of Criminal Law at the Eafit University, the summons to testify is part of the initial process and corresponds to a prior investigation in which the Prosecutor’s Office “seeks to establish whether the illegal financing existed and its circumstances of time, manner and place. “In this specific case, the amount of money that had entered illegally, its origin and determine the alleged perpetrators or participants in the crime,” he explained.
According to the lawyer, in the event that the prosecuting body determines that there was a crime, the next step would be to call the campaign manager –Ricardo Roa, today the president of Ecopetrol– and the contributors who have delivered the money from prohibited sources to the charges. For these facts, penalties of between 4 and 8 years in prison are contemplated, and a fine of up to 1,200 minimum wages.
However, Professor Álvarez specified that, in the case of irregular campaign financing -according to the Penal Code-, the person responsible would be the manager and the candidate, that is, President Petro, who would be investigated by “the Accusation Commission (of Congress) as long as there are indications that he had allowed illegal financing”.
So, what luck does the former ambassador have in store, taking into account that, according to the audios, it was he who made the arrangements to obtain the money irregularly. The lawyer explained that, at first, Benedetti would act as a witness, but if any irregularity that is attributable is shown, he could be subject to criminal proceedings. In that case, without jurisdiction, the case would go from the Supreme Court to the Attorney General’s Office.
“He could be an accomplice to the crime of illegal financing if it is proven that he helped to obtain those resources or a determinant of the same crime if it is proven that he convinced the manager to receive those resources,” he said.
The process is just starting and it is still uncertain what Benedetti will say before the Prosecutor’s Office. Whether he will give details of alleged wrongdoing or whether he will deny himself.
This is how the process goes before the CNE
Just 8 days ago, Laura Sarabia, the former head of the office, went to the National Electoral Council (CNE) to explain the alleged irregular financing of Petro’s campaign. “My role was to build the agenda of the then candidate (…) Petro was always emphatic that any donation, income of money or resources of all kinds should be processed by the manager,” she defended.
The CNE is carrying out another preliminary investigation against the campaign after a complaint for inconsistencies in the financing and presentation of income and expense reports.
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