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The embezzlement of the extinct Health Provider Company (EPS) SaludCoop is one of the most scandalous cases of corruption

A Colombian judge sentenced Carlos Palacino, former president of the SaludCoop company, to 10 years in prison for corruption offenses for which he will also have to pay a fine of 297,000 million Colombian pesos (about 79 million dollars), reported this Tuesday the prosecution.

The embezzlement of the extinct Health Provider Company (EPS) SaludCoop is one of the most scandalous cases of corruption in the history of Colombia.

Palacino was also banned for life from holding public office, according to the sentence of a Circuit criminal judge who found him guilty of a crime of embezzlement by appropriation in favor of third parties.

Between 2000 and 2004, Palacino used 400,000 million pesos (about 106.5 million dollars today), which should be used to meet the health needs of the EPS SaludCoop, for the purchase of goods and real estate in the country and in the outside.

According to the evidence collected by the Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Palacino, the health company used public money to purchase real estate in Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador, which affected the services provided to SaludCoop members, the liquidity of the entity and the motivated non-compliance in the payment to suppliers.

He also gave loans to partners and workers and paid for personal trips and bought high-end vehicles.

That millionaire embezzlement led the Colombian government to intervene in the company in May 2011 and its subsequent liquidation.

All the illegalities in SaludCoop were carried out through maneuvers that modified the company’s population census or modified the age of the affiliates, of which 240,000 who appeared to be of legal age were actually minors.

The Prosecutor’s Office also learned that nearly 300,000 users reported inconsistencies regarding their paternal or maternal surnames, while 3,713 deceased members were still active in the system and 800 beneficiaries were registered as men, being in fact women.

Palacino was arrested and brought to justice in March 2018 by order of a Specialized Prosecutor against Corruption, accused of irregularities and administrative mismanagement while he was executive president and legal representative of SaludCoop.

Palacino had already been sanctioned by control agencies, such as the Attorney General’s Office (Public Ministry), which in 2012 disqualified him for 20 years from holding public office and providing services to the State. EFE