President of Colombia Gustavo Petro denied this Thursday a version published in Semana magazine, according to which an anonymous source points to him as the owner of a large amount of money. allegedly stolen from the home of his former chief of staff, Laura Sarabia, and assured that this was aimed at discrediting him.

“This alleged testimony, which has a slanderous interest in relation to the President of the Republic, is aimed at undermining the confidence of citizens in the national government, through versions of events in which no evidence is presented or exists,” Petro said. who is visiting Germany, the statement said.

According to the version published last night by the magazine, the money stolen from Sarabia’s house, which caused a scandal in the government, “belonged to Petro, there were five suitcases and 3 billion pesos (about 718 thousand dollars).”

From my side, Sarabia said in a statement: “Never in my life have I received in any capacity or from any person such an amount of money. I have never seen even a close number.”

In addition, he claimed that they seek to “damage” his name and the “dignity of the president”, while confirming that he prefers to “keep silent in the face of countless versions and information that circulate daily” and wait for the results of the investigations.

Origin of the crisis

Last month, Semana exposed the alleged theft of a briefcase containing an unspecified amount of money from the home of Sarabia, who was Petro’s right-hand man, as well as alleged illegal acts committed by members of the government in investigating what happened, which included interrogations without a warrant and illegal wiretapping of Marelbis Meza , a nanny convicted of robbery.

Last On June 2, the scandal led to the resignation of Sarabia and the ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, who was the one who allegedly leaked what happened to the press.

In another turn of the crisis, Last Friday, Police Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Davila, who was seconded to the Presidential Security Service, was found dead, believed to have been a suicide. and related to the interrogation and illegal interceptions of Mesa.

This Wednesday, journalist Vicky Davila, director of Semana, published a story linking Petro to money she said she received “from one of the people who had several confidential conversations with a high-ranking official whose death is still a mystery.” .

“Davila (colonel) told me that Petro sent Laura (Sarabia) to store money for him in the apartment, this money was lost, so they needed him to show up before informing the president that it was lost,” he said. . witness, according to the week

Peter’s refusal

Before that post Peter assured today in a statement: “Never in my existence have I even seen the amount of money claimed by an anonymous source. and what journalist Vicky Davila uses to publish in Semana magazine.”

“Therefore, the statements of an allegedly unidentified source, in which I am involved in large amounts of cash, are false. These statements, which are difficult to prove due to their anonymity, are slanderous,” he added.

He The President also notes that throughout his political career, he was “friends with the owners of the Semana magazine,” which is the Gilinsky family.and they are “first class witnesses to my honour”.

“The competent authorities, and not anonymous persons whose interests are unknown, should bring clarity to the investigative processes. who are moving forward,” Petro said and emphasized that he “provided guarantees so that they can carry out their work with complete freedom, access and transparency, without any obstacles.”

(EFE)