Controversial Supreme Court judge orders corruption investigation into colleague
by Adam Veitch June 25, 2019
A Colombia’s Supreme Court judge has ordered Congress to investigate the head of the court’s appeals chamber on bribery charges, local media reported Tuesday.
According to W Radio, the investigation order was issued by instruction chamber magistrate Cristina Lombana, who recently was removed from an investigation by her colleagues against former President Alvaro Uribe after omitting to inform the court she used to work for the politician’s defense attorney.
Lombana surprisingly overturned a Supreme Court’s plenary chamber ruling from May that decided against an investigation after reportedly receiving evidence from US authorities implicating magistrate Eyder Patiño in the alleged bribery of multiple Supreme Court magistrates.
. . .
The scandal
The so-called “Toga Cartel” scandal came to light in 2017, after Luis Gustavo Moreno, the anti-corruption chief of former Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto Martinez was arrested after the DEA recorded him accepting bribes totaling $10,000 from former Governor of Cordoba, Alejandro Lyons, who stands accused of crimes ranging from embezzlement to murder and para-politics.
The scandal has since grown to involve congressmen, prosecution officials and several (former) Supreme Court magistrates.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/controversial-supreme-court-judge-orders-corruption-investigation-into-colleague/
Former Teflon President Álvaro Uribe and Magistrate Cristina Lombana
"former Governor of Cordoba, Alejandro Lyons, who stands accused of crimes ranging from embezzlement to murder and para-politics" and associates.
