David Murcia Withdraws Accusations Against De la Espriella

David Murcia Guzman, a convicted businessman involved in the DMG money-taking scheme, has retracted the accusations he made against former lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella during the presidential campaign. The retraction was submitted to the Prosecutor's Office on September 23, part of the proceedings initiated after De la Espriella filed a complaint about Murcia's statements.

In a February interview with journalist Daniel Coronell, Murcia and his then-lawyer Sondra Macollins had accused De la Espriella of misappropriating around 5 billion pesos (approximately US$1.5 million) in professional fees and of requesting 760 million pesos (approximately US$237,000) to promote legislative action. Murcia now denies these claims, stating that the fees paid to De la Espriella were compensation for legal services provided, and that the lawyer never asked for or suggested bribes to lawmakers.

Murcia's retraction also covers other allegations, including claims that De la Espriella received funds seized from DMG and that the lawyer intervened to harm other lawyers defending Murcia. He further distances himself from the accusations that De la Espriella's father received government benefits to favor the lawyer's defense.

Murcia acknowledged that the prolonged time spent in prison influenced his state of mind when making these accusations, which he now considers not to have corresponded to actual events.