Former Minister Karen Abudinen testified before the Supreme Court in the case of Populated Centers

This Wednesday, before the Supreme Court of Justice, former minister Karen Abudinen, attended as a witness to give her testimony in the preliminary investigation that is being carried out against two congressmen for their alleged participation in the scandal of the Centros Poblados case. From 2:00 in the afternoon, the former minister went to the high court to attend the summons and according to preliminary information, assured that no congressman would have pressured her to avoid giving up the contract and that she is not aware of the participation of officials in these events. . The foregoing contradicts a trill that the same official made, assuring that Senator Armando Benedetti called her to suggest that the contract not expire.“Senator: I refresh her memory. You did call me, like other people did. His purpose was to suggest to me the assignment of the contract to an American firm. My answer was blunt: Expire the contract. I do not negotiate, nor do I give in to the corrupt,” Abudinen said at the time.

She also read: Congress filed a project that allowed the express transfer of the pension regime After the statements, the Court's Investigation Chamber investigates Armando Benedetti, of the U Party; and Antonio Luis Zabaraín, from Cambio Radical, after a complaint filed by the Citizen Oversight Network. Benedetti, without any evidence to date, had been singled out for allegedly having asked Abudinen in a call to give up the contract for the that the scandal was opened that today has lost 70,000 million pesos. Senator Armando Benedetti, upon hearing Abudinen's testimony, assured that “I am glad that Karen Abudinen has clarified before the Supreme Court that I never called her to favor any company in Populated Centers. Tomorrow I hope that all the media that crucified me, with the same time and impetus, explain that I had nothing to do with it. In recent days, the former minister left for the United States for personal reasons, which generated suspicion and opinions that she could evade justice, so before the comments, she assured: "Here I am in Bogotá, I came to fulfill the appointment as all that I have fulfilled to the justice and control entities. Regarding the issue of Populated Centers, I want to remind public opinion that it was I as a minister who expired the contract, it was I as a minister who made the embargoes and that I will continue forward until the final consequences are reached and that those who have to pay pay.”

Also read: Opinion: what is the Social Protection Floor and what advantages does it have? Abudinen did not give details about the diligence related to the investigation that is taking place against the senators, nor did he refer to the point he made against Armando Benedetti, but said that he did not he will leave the country and that "he is showing his face". the control entities”, he said. In the same framework, Senator Antonio Zabaraín denied interference in the contract of Populated Centers. In the free version given by the congressman, he stated that he has never met any of the contractors of the Centros Poblados consortium.