Asset forfeiture ordered on six properties of Charlie Zaa valued at over $23.775 billion
The Justice and Peace Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá ordered the forfeiture of six properties linked to singer Charlie Zaa. The real estate, located in Cundinamarca and Tolima, are valued at over 23.775 billion pesos.
Bogotá court orders asset forfeiture on Charlie Zaa properties
The Justice and Peace Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá ordered the forfeiture of six properties connected to singer Carlos Alberto Sánchez Ramírez, known artistically as Charlie Zaa. According to elpais.com.co, the decision was adopted on Wednesday as part of a sentence against ten former members of the defunct Tolima Bloc of the United Self-Defences of Colombia (AUC).
The affected properties are valued at over 23.775 billion pesos and are located in the departments of Cundinamarca and Tolima.
Properties included in the order
Among the properties in question are two commercial premises at the Oasis Shopping Centre in Girardot; an urban lot in Guamo; another urban lot in Lérida; Hacienda Guamal in San Luis, Tolima; and a land lot with improvements, also in Girardot.
The property with the highest valuation is one of the Oasis Shopping Centre premises, valued at 15.840 billion pesos. The Chamber determined that this property would have been acquired with money of illicit origin.
A 209-page ruling
The decision on these properties is part of a 209-page ruling through which the Justice and Peace Chamber resolved the legal situation of the ten former members of the Tolima Bloc of the AUC. The document also examined the functioning of the illegal armed structure, including the mechanisms it used to obtain, manage and conceal resources derived from its criminal activity.
The investigation examined the possible connection of certain Zaa properties with resources attributed to the Tolima Bloc. The then leader Diego José Martínez Goyeneche, alias Daniel, would have resorted for years to the help of third parties to carry out money movements and property investments, in order to disguise the illicit origin of these assets.
Evidence supporting the decision
"In that regard, the Public Ministry conducted judicial inspections, financial analyses, registry studies, witness testimony and accounting expert reports, among other activities, which made it possible to reconstruct the traceability of the assets and establish that they would be part of the identified illegal network," the Public Ministry stated concerning the judicial decision.
The properties will pass to a fund for reparation of victims of criminal groups linked to the AUC.
Charlie Zaa's position
Zaa remains firm in stating that his wealth is the result of more than 30 years of musical career, and argues that the funds with which he acquired his properties come from royalties generated by his artistic work.
Source: Google News CO — Bogotá