Colombian anti-corruption director arrested on U.S. corruption charges

June 28 (UPI) -- Colombia's attorney general said Luis Gustavo Moreno, the director of an anti-corruption prosecution team, has been arrested over U.S. money laundering charges linked to a foreign bribery scheme.

In a statement released Tuesday, Colombian Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez said Gustavo Moreno, who worked under the attorney general, and lawyer Leonardo Luis Pinilla Gómez were arrested by an elite team with the support of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

"With indignation and profound institutional pain, I am obliged to inform the public that ... the director of the Specialized National Prosecutor Against Corruption, Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivero, has just been captured ... for conduct that seriously damages our institutional integrity and condemns him, who was the trustee of the highest confidence when assigned with the responsibility of the management of one of the most important programs of this entity: the fight against corruption," Humberto Martínez said.

Humberto Martínez said the arrest was carried out after Interpol issued a red notice with the goal of extradition after the United States accused the men of conspiracy to launder assets in order to promote bribery and corruption in Colombia.

The attorney general said the men will be notified of the extradition request as part of the possibly lengthy process that, if successful, will see them sent to Miami.

Red notices are not international arrest warrants, but a way for Interpol to inform member nations that an arrest warrant has been issued by a judicial authority in another member country that seeks the location and arrest of wanted persons for the purpose of extradition or similar lawful action.

Interpol cannot send officers to arrest or compel member nations to arrest individuals under red notices.

The United States accuses the men of attempting to receive a bribe from a Colombian politician facing a corruption investigation. The politician was working as an informant for anti-corruption authorities.

"Corruption is a threat to all our institutions. We can not fail, without consideration or contemplation," the attorney general added.