What happened in the imputation hearing against Ricardo Roa for alleged violation of caps in Petro's campaign

Ricardo Roa Barragán, president of Ecopetrol. Photo: César Melgarejo / Portafolio

What happened in the imputation hearing against Ricardo Roa for alleged violation of caps in Petro's campaign

TL;DR

  • The prosecution presented its case against Ricardo Roa Barragán for exceeding campaign spending limits.
  • The hearing was suspended because the defense requested clarifications on the facts presented by the prosecution.
  • The prosecution alleges the campaign exceeded spending limits by COP 1.664 billion.
  • The first round allegedly saw an excess of COP 1.388 billion and unreported expenses of COP 1.193 million.
  • The second round allegedly exceeded the limit by COP 276 million with unreported expenses of COP 770 million.
  • The prosecution argues Roa, as campaign manager, intentionally allowed expenses to exceed the limits.
  • Several events and entities, including unions and travel agencies, are under scrutiny for unrecorded expenses.
  • Roa also faces a separate investigation for alleged influence peddling.
  • The hearing is scheduled to resume on May 11th, where Roa will have the opportunity to respond to the charges.