Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project amid bribery probe

Colombian prosecutors are scrutinizing allegations that executives from a Chinese state-owned contractor demanded cash from a local subcontractor for payment release on the Bogota metro project. The investigation centers on a 26-minute video obtained by the news magazine Semana.

The footage captures a local subcontractor handing over 60 million pesos (approximately $19,000) in cash to a commercial manager at China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), identified only as Yang. The subcontractor reportedly told the executive that each package contained 5 million pesos, totaling the sum. Yang is then seen counting the money for about 10 minutes before issuing a receipt.

According to the complaint cited by Semana, the payment was allegedly demanded as a condition for CHEC to approve invoices totaling between 1 billion and 1.2 billion pesos (US$320,000 to US$380,000). The subcontractor, Union Temporal Metrobuild, claims this money was owed for work completed in March.

The consortium building the metro has refuted the allegations, asserting that the money exchanged was a retention payment. They state this payment was agreed upon due to a contractual dispute concerning the quality of the subcontractor's work. The video evidence is now part of the formal complaint filed with the Colombian Prosecutor's Office.

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each package contained 5 million pesos