Uruguay
Jutep reviews complaint against councilman Gonzalo Gómez over case involving his convicted former adviser
The agency received an anonymous filing and must determine whether there were breaches of public conduct rules. Pablo Leiva was convicted of money laundering and left his post on the Montevideo Departmental Board.
The Public Transparency and Ethics Board received an anonymous complaint against Montevideo National Party councilman Gonzalo Gómez over the case that led to the conviction of his former adviser Pablo Leiva, according to El País and la diaria, citing sources at the agency.
Leiva was convicted through a plea deal to two and a half years in prison for money laundering. According to la diaria, he was also convicted of internal trafficking in ammunition. After the case became public, he was removed from the Montevideo Departmental Board.
In the operation linked to the investigation, weapons, cash and vehicles were seized. El País reported that more than $ 3,000,000, US$ 42,000, AK-47 rifle ammunition, firearms and several high-end vehicles were found at Leiva’s home. La diaria, for its part, said that in Operation Trazador police seized more than 260 kilos of drugs, as well as weapons, vehicles and cash, at a house in Brazo Oriental, in Montevideo.
Leiva’s son, Lucio Leiva, also belongs to Gómez’s team of advisers. According to El País, he had come under scrutiny at the start of the investigation but was later released and dropped from the case, so he remains in office. La diaria reported that Gómez said in a statement that it was not appropriate to attribute responsibility to him for the facts under investigation involving his father.
Now Jutep must determine whether there was any breach of the regulations linked to public service and anti-corruption. El País recalled that the Code of Ethics in Public Service requires reporting irregularities known in the exercise of office, and that Law 17,060 establishes duties to prevent abuses, misuse of power or improper use of office. According to la diaria, the agency must rule within up to 90 days and this is the first complaint received in this case.
Gómez, who according to both outlets will return from China in the coming days, said that Leiva had joined his team only recently and that he never had any knowledge or suspicions about the facts under investigation, according to El País. He also said the situation took him by surprise and took responsibility for not having been sufficiently cautious when adding him to his work environment.
The case also implicated Jorge Gandini, a leader of the Por la Patria faction, to which Gómez belongs. El País reported that the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating transactions carried out by Leiva at a money transfer outlet owned by Gandini’s wife, amid suspicion that those movements could have been part of a money-laundering scheme. La diaria added that the branch is registered in the name of Laura Scalabrino Muga and that Gandini said at a news conference that the outlet was not used to launder money from drug trafficking.
In addition, la diaria noted that the National Party has still not issued a formal statement on the episode. It also quoted remarks by Frente Amplio president Fernando Pereira, who expressed concern about the possibility of drug trafficking entering the financing of political parties, although he ruled out using the case for electoral purposes.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this fact.
