The authorities are still on the trail of what would be a large network to destabilize public order and democracy in Colombia with the support of Russian citizens who even they would have transferred resources to groups that were behind the disturbances and damage of the most recent protests in the country, and those of 2019.
This was revealed by the Investigative Unit of the newspaper El Tiempo, which had access to the file of the investigation led by British, Colombian, DEA and CIA intelligence agents, which originated following it became known that a high-ranking officer of the armed forces Colombian military had frequent encounters with Russian people and a strange increase in their finances.
The officer was removed from his post, following it was confirmed that I found out relevant information regarding the management and destination of reserved national security expenses. Subsequently, their common interlocutors were intercepted and monitored: one of the preliminary conclusions is that their actions are part of a sophisticated money laundering plan, with money being sent from Moscow, the Russian capital, to cities such as Bogotá and Medellín.
Two active groups of Russians
According to the El Tiempo article, the transfers have been made from the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, Sberbank, and the money is withdrawn in pesos at ATMs and cryptocurrencies. Investigators in this case have strong indications that in Medellín and Bogotá there are two groups of Russians who would participate in this network.
One of them is articulated by a woman who took a flight, in December 2021, from the capital of Antioquia to Panama and from there to Moscow. The second is led, according to the file, by a man known by the alias of Servac, who would be a lawyer, would work in the tourism sector and moves around Colombia with a Russian consular certification according to which he has no criminal record.
The interceptions that the authorities made to “Servac” show that I had the plan to look for powerful friends in Colombia and that he even coordinated money transfers from Moscow to the country through Sberbank and the Western Union agency.
According to intelligence investigations, “Servac” frequently reports events related to protests and excesses in Colombia to his boss in Moscow, whom he calls Dimas. AND They also found him copies of consignments of the money that is arriving from Russia.
The monitoring of “Servac” also includes screenshots of chats and profiles on social networks in which another Russian person hosted more than 12 live broadcasts regarding riots and vandalism in Bogotá, including giving directions and locating people. In one of the recordings, the man is seen looking for “Félix”, one of the indicated leaders of the riots.
At the moment, local authorities are studying the idea of asking the Russian Embassy in Bogotá to help establish why this character, born in Kazakhstan, He transmitted these events through social networks, in the center of the riots, putting his safety at risk, without anything happening to him.
Images and names of 68 people who would have contact in Colombia with “Servac” are also studied, among whom are two known as Choco and Moure. To this is added that at least three companies are mentioned in the investigations, whose names are reserved so as not to hinder the work of the authorities.
In addition, the authorities shared some of this information with the governments of other countries, while groups like the one led by “Servac” are believed to have similar interests in Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Serbia. In some of these nations there are similarities with Colombia, such as the development of massive citizen demonstrations that ended in riots or failures in electronic voting in elections.
The truth is that in the last year and a half Colombia has expelled Russian spies and has presented diplomatic complaints regarding the overflight of an intelligent plane through Colombian airspace. It remains to be seen how Russia will proceed following knowing the details that the investigation has given.
68
names, according to the investigation, would be related to “Servac”.