Colombia anti-corruption chief arrested on US charges Published duration 27 June 2017

image copyright Getty Images image caption The two were arrested in Colombia and face extradition to the US

Colombia's top anti-corruption official has been arrested on US charges of money laundering in connection with an alleged bribery scheme, officials say.

Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera, national director of anti-corruption, was arrested in Colombia and faces extradition to the US.

A Colombian lawyer, Leonardo Luis Pinilla Gomez, was also arrested.

They are both charged with conspiring to launder money to promote foreign bribery, US prosecutors say.

There was no immediate comment from the two men or their representatives.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Miami federal court, the two tried to obtain a bribe from a Colombian politician who, unknown to them, was an informant for the authorities.

It is alleged they offered to give the politician copies of witness statements from a corruption case against him in return for 100m Colombian pesos ($34,500; £27,000).

Prosecutors say the two travelled to Miami to meet the politician and their conversations were recorded.

At the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, they were given a deposit of $10,000 in bribe money, the complaint says.

According to the Miami Herald, the two were arrested in Colombia on a provisional arrest warrant, or Interpol Red Notice.

The extradition process to Miami could takes months, it adds.

Related Topics Colombia

Corruption