Colombia Envoy To Venezuela Quits Over Corruption Scandal

[Judi Lynn]

MAY 17, 2011, 9:57 A.M. ET.
Colombia Envoy To Venezuela Quits Over Corruption Scandal

By Dan Molinski
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BOGOTA (Dow Jones)--With just eight months on the job, Colombia's ambassador to Venezuela has resigned after acknowledging that he had had previous business dealings with a Colombian construction firm now linked to a major corruption scandal.

Jose Fernando Bautista resigned as ambassador for "reasons of a personal nature," said a statement posted Monday night on the website of Colombia's Foreign Ministry. It said the foreign ministry and President Juan Manuel Santos accepted Bautista's resignation and "appreciated the work he had been performing at the embassy."

The ministry's statement didn't provide further details, but Bautista explained his reasons for resigning in a letter reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires. In the letter, Bautista said that prior to holding any government position he had worked as a go-between for two private companies, one of which was the Nule Group.

The Nule Group is a construction conglomerate at the center of a massive corruption scandal that has dominated local headlines in Colombia for months. The Nule Group's three directors, Guido, Miguel and Manuel Nule, are accused of bribing Colombians politicians to be awarded large contracts for road and highway construction projects. The three men--two brothers and one cousin--were arrested and sent to prison earlier this year and are awaiting trial for corruption and other charges. They have acknowledged guilt on some charges while denying responsibility for others.

More:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110517-708742.html

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Earlier article from Colombia Reports mentioned the 3 Nule directors live in -> MIAMI. We're #1.

Nule directors to await corruption trial from prison
Monday, 11 April 2011 19:07 Jim Glade

A judge on Monday ordered the three directors of the disgraced Nule Group to await their corruption trial in a Bogota prison.

The judge decided that there is enough evidence against the Nule Group, one of Colombia's largest construction companies, to warrant the detention of Manuel, Miguel and Guido Nule in the La Picota prison until their trial date.

The three cousins live in Miami but flew to Bogota to face charges of embezzlement by appropriation, fraud, misrepresentation, bribery and conspiracy for their role in the fraudulent awarding of contracts for public works in Colombia's capital.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/15527-nule-directors-to-await-corruption-trial-prison.html

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/2011/03/nule_grup_01.jpg

Nule Group

http://age-web.age.uiuc.edu.nyud.net:8090/faculty/kb/LAB-NANO/three%20stooges.jpg