Former minister Andres Felipe Arias has been granted conditional freedom

The second court to execute a sentence in Bogota granted conditional freedom to former Agriculture Minister Andrés Felipe Leiva, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the Agro Ingreso Seguro (AIS) scandal.

The decision was taken because Arias had served three-fifths of the sentence imposed by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court for the crimes of undue interest in the execution of contracts and embezzlement by appropriation in favor of third parties.

Arias’s lawyer, Victor Mosquera, He said that “the former minister is redeeming his sentence through work and study, effectively complying with the objective and subjective conditions to be eligible to regain his fundamental right to liberty.”

Technically he also said that “all objective and subjective aspects were met; This is the material time and allowance for redemption, given that a sentence of 125 months and 24 days was given and the sentence given was established at 209 months and 8 days and three-fifths of it was 125 months and 17 days. Is equal.

arias stay together House arrest or ‘house in jail’ from August 2022While he was at the Infantry School north of Bogotá, he demonstrated good behavior with studies and work.

Arias was serving a sentence for the crimes of contracting without compliance with legal requirements and embezzlement by appropriation. In the decision they explain when the Agro Ingresso Seguro program startedThe former Agriculture Minister ignored state contracting principles of transparency, planning, economy and accountability, and, moreover, did not prevent individuals who did not comply with requirements from illegally appropriating AIS resources.

According to the High Court, the sentence imposed on Arias was neither unjust nor excessive, but on the contrary, respects the due process, is proportionate, necessary and established. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the ministers at the time knew of and had control over the activities carried out by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in the management of AIS resources.

According to the Court, the former Agriculture Minister did nothing to prevent individuals from appropriating the program’s resources, apparently because he knew they would support him in his political campaign.