The Supreme Court of Justice is investigating a cryptocurrency bribery scheme in which the names of congressmen Iván Name and Andrés Calle have emerged.
According to investigations, both would have received more than 4,000 million pesos (close to 1 million dollars) diverted from the funds of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), intended to care for victims of natural emergencies.. These funds would have been illegally redirected to favor certain government reforms.
In recent statements, Sneyder Pinilla, deputy director of the UNGRD and currently detained, confessed that, to avoid transporting cash, which could appear suspicious, converted around 1,000 million pesos in cryptocurrencies, to transfer them immediately to other parties involved. According to Pinilla, these funds would then be converted back into cash at the final destination.
At the moment, the prosecution has already located those involvedmainly relatives of Name and Calle. According to the testimonies obtained, the money was diverted to support the campaigns of María Clara Name Ramírez, daughter of Iván Name, and Gabriel Enrique Calle Aguas, brother of Andrés Calle, among others.
Why use cryptocurrencies?
According to statements collected by the media, Pinilla chose to use cryptocurrencies instead of cash because It was easier to transfer money from Bogotá to Montería, capital of Córdoba.
“The money was taken through cryptocurrencies from one sector to the other. I delivered 1,000 million pesos here and they delivered 1,000 million pesos to me in Montería (…) because 1,000 million pesos cannot be taken on the plane to Montería, so we had to find a way to place them in Montería. And what was the best way? Through cryptocurrencies. Because? Because you deliver here and the next day they deliver to the other place.”
Sneyder Pinilla, deputy director of the UNGRD
Cash is commonly preferred by criminals because it is difficult to trace, although it is impractical to move large quantities across territories.
Some media indicate that the prosecutor’s office could be concerned about the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. This comes at a time when the government is evaluating Bitcoin regulation.
Pinilla did not specify which cryptocurrency was used. If Bitcoin or a stablecoin such as USDT was used, cryptocurrencies that are easily convertible due to their market liquidity, Transactions could be fully traceable. By simply identifying the address of the person who received the funds, you could know their origin.
This is not to mention that, if a bank transfer was made, the prosecutor’s office could obtain personal data. This is assuming that the transfers were made from one wallet to another; if at some point an exchange was used, tracking the origin and destination of the funds would be even easier for the authorities.