Colombia anti-corruption chief arrested on US charges

Colombia's top anti-corruption official has been arrested on US
charges of money laundering in connection with an alleged bribery
scheme, officials say.

Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera, national director of anti-corruption,
was arrested in Colombia and faces extradition to the US.

A Colombian lawyer, Leonardo Luis Pinilla Gomez, was also
arrested.

They are both charged with conspiring to launder money to
promote foreign bribery, US prosecutors say.

There was no immediate comment from the two men or their
representatives.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Miami federal court,
the two tried to obtain a bribe from a Colombian politician who,
unknown to them, was an informant for the authorities.

It is alleged they offered to give the politician copies of witness
statements from a corruption case against him in return for 100m
Colombian pesos ($34,500; £27,000).

Prosecutors say the two travelled to Miami to meet the politician
and their conversations were recorded.

At the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, they
were given a deposit of $10,000 in bribe money, the complaint
says.

According to the Miami Herald, the two were arrested in Colombia
on a provisional arrest warrant, or Interpol Red Notice.

The extradition process to Miami could takes months, it adds