On February 27, President Gustavo Petro asked María Isabel Urritía for her resignation letter, the president declared “Insubsistent to the Minister of Sports for her indelicate actions with the nation’s budget”. This Friday the Prosecutor’s Office published that after months of investigation, he will be charged with illegal hiring.
“The Prosecutor’s Office will impute former Sports Minister María Isabel Urrutia for the crime of contract without complying with legal requirements for the celebration of 106 contracts for the provision of services”, The investigative body published on its Twitter account.
Why will María Isabel Urrutia be charged?
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, after leaving the Ministry of Sports, that same day the Olympic medalist signed 106 contracts for the provision of professional services. “According to the evidence, after the President of the Republic publicly requested his resignation, on the night of February 28 of the current year, the former official ordered the selective and subjective termination of 106 contracts for the provision of professional services and management support, which were valid for four months.
In March Andrés Idárraga, Secretary of Transparency of the Presidency, assured that these contracts were signed for a value of $23,920,982,500. “I have requested Internal Control of the Ministry of Sports attach a copy of the 206 contracts entered into since January 1, 2023 and especially the 25 that were signed between February 28 and March 6 for a value of $16,339 million,” he said at a press conference.
In an interview for Caracol Radio, the official assured that María Isabel Urrutia wasted in the two months that she was in office the budget of the Ministry of Sport. “The Ministry of Sport wasted two months of budget duplicating the contractual objects on the same number of contractors,” he said.