De la Espriella campaign paid $363,720 to “ghost company”
The campaign of far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella paid COP1.3 million ($363,720) to an apparent front company, reported Cambio magazine. The company, Nova Soporte Integral, had been liquidated in October of 2023 and resurfaced in February, according to Cambio. The company’s formal legal representative was a Medellin college student, who received government support […] The post De la Espriella campaign paid $363,720 to “ghost company” appeared first on Colombia News.
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The campaign of far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella paid COP1.3 million ($363,720) to an apparent front company, reported Cambio magazine.
The company, Nova Soporte Integral, had been liquidated in October of 2023 and resurfaced in February, according to Cambio.
The company’s formal legal representative was a Medellin college student, who received government support because of his allegedly vulnerable situation and deleted his social media profiles after he was contacted by the online news magazine.
Nova Soporte Integral was first registered in December of 2021 as Auto-Servis Colombia S.A.S. by three people, Yesid Manrique, Harbey Reyes and Cristian Caballos, with a business purpose related to vehicle maintenance and repair, and the sale of auto parts.
The company was liquidated in October 2023 and reappeared under the new name and a new business purpose with a new legal representative on February 20 of this year, according to Cambio.
Since then, Nova Soporte Integral received COP1.3 million from the far-right campaign for providing transport, and the logistics and catering of events.
With the company’s relaunch came a windfall: a company that hadn’t generated a single cent in revenue suddenly began receiving 1,299 million pesos for transportation and logistics services. Who was the client? Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign.
Cambio
When journalists visited the company’s formal address, they found a frozen food firm with no relation to Nova Soporte Integral.
The company phones that had been registered with the Chamber of Commerce weren’t answered, according to Cambio.
While journalists were inquiring about the company, a WhatsApp number appeared in the registries and contact was made with the firm.
The person on the phone wouldn’t immediately answer questions, according to the online magazine.
Cambio reported on Wednesday that the company began building its public profile after it journalists began looking into the company.
The last few days have been hectic for Nova Soporte Integral, the company to which Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign paid 1,299 million pesos before the first round of voting. Five months after being legally revived, and in the space of four days (June 12–15), this firm did what is typically done before billing a single peso: it launched a website, created an Instagram profile, and registered a new address with the Chamber of Commerce.
Cambio
De la Espriella’s campaign manager, German Calderon, demanded a rectification of the report, insisting that “our campaign is clean and Defensores de la Patria has acted transparently, complying with all the electoral and legal regulations.”
The post De la Espriella campaign paid $363,720 to “ghost company” appeared first on Colombia News.
