Colombian top judge asked to resign amid corruption allegations

Colombian government on Wednesday urged Constitutional Court head Jorge Pretelt to resign amid accusations that he had asked an oil company for about 200,000 U.S. dollars in exchange for passing a ruling in the firm's favor.

After another judge accused Pretelt of corruption, the government requested to investigate him and asked him to resign from post to avoid damaging the image of the high court, Minister of Justice Yesid Reyes told reporters.

According to Reyes, though Pretelt has no legal obligation to resign, he should quit his job as a court judge to address the situation.

Minister of Interior Juan Fernando Cristo also said that Pretelt should resign in order to protect the image of the high court, which is echoed by Maria Victoria Calle,the judge in charge of the high court, who suggested Pretelt be dismissed from his position.

Colombia's Attorney General Office announced last Tuesday that it had initiated a criminal investigation panel to probe "the possible participation of individuals" on the accusations against the head of the Constitutional Court.

After the public scandal, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos demanded an immediate investigation into the details of the report made by Judge Gonzalez in order to report to the people and preserve the integrity of the Constitutional Court. Endi