The loan that has Sergio Fajardo in distress in Colombia

Sergio Fajardo in a photo taken on April 19, 2018 in Bogotá, Colombia.

(Credit: Gabriel Aponte / Getty Images / 2018 Americas Initiative Presidential Debate)

(CNN Spanish) -

The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation of Colombia will charge the former governor of the department of Antioquia and presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo for crimes of "embezzlement by appropriation in favor of aggravated third parties and contract without compliance with legal requirements."

In a statement issued this Wednesday, they indicated that in the investigation, which began in 2015, they obtained material elements that demonstrate alleged irregularities in a loan contract signed on December 5, 2013 when Fajardo was governor between the department of Antioquia and a bank.

Fajardo reacted on Twitter, where he stated that he awaits a summons to "understand the accusation."

"As always, ready to answer for my actions, but I will formally ask the Attorney General to chair a legal technical committee to review the inadmissibility of this accusation," he wrote.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, he not only ordered the expense and signed the contract but also had responsibility and position of guarantor in administrative decisions related to the contract.

This involved the disbursement of US $ 77,000,000 to replace debt with other banks.

The judicial police carried out a series of technical, financial and legal analyzes that showed that "a study had not been carried out on the need to sign a loan contract in foreign currency."

The highest research body in Colombia added that there was no projection that warned of the volatility of the dollar, nor was the contracting with an exchange risk insurance.

They affirmed that the internal obligation contracted in dollars originated a “presumed fiscal detriment” due to the devaluation of the Colombian peso, which, until 2020, amounted to about 320,000 million pesos.

"This situation was reflected in the increase in the general debt of the department of Antioquia, which, at the time, went from 600,000 million pesos to about 1.2 trillion Colombian pesos," said the accusing entity.

The Prosecutor's Office announced that it will send copies to the Specialized Directorate against Corruption to investigate the actions of other officials or individuals at the signing of the contract, although it clarified that no arrest measure will be requested.

advertising

Sergio Fajardo has already expressed his intentions for 2022

Sergio Fajardo was mayor of Medellín in the period 2004-2007, governor of Antioquia between 2012 and 2017 and presidential candidate in 2018 for the independent movement Compromiso Ciudadano.

He has publicly expressed his intention on social networks and local media to want to again aspire to the presidency of Colombia in 2022 by the same political movement in coalition with the Alianza Verde party.

Some political and opinion sectors have questioned the measure of the Prosecutor's Office and argue that it has no further legal basis.

Among them the presidential candidate for the Colombia Humana party, Gustavo Petro —one of Fajardo's main rivals—, who said on his Twitter account: “In spite of everything, I hope that Fajardo comes out well off that accusation.

It does not sound good that months before an election the Prosecutor's Office will go hand in hand ".

Fernando Ramos contributed to this report.