BOGOTA, May 8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Colombia's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the arrests of the former presidents of both houses of Parliament, in a corruption scandal rocking the government of President Gustavo Petro.

The high court is investigating the embezzlement of $1 million in public funds, allegedly used to bribe the heads of the upper and lower chambers in exchange for speeding up the adoption of several government bills.

Local media published images showing the arrest of former Senate president Ivan Name of the opposition Green Party.

Lawyers for Andres Calle, former speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and member of the Liberal Party, said on X that their client maintained his innocence but "will comply" with the arrest order.

The Supreme Court order comes after two former directors of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit were charged last July with embezzling public money intended to bribe parliamentarians.

That pair said they were willing to give information to prosecutors in exchange for a reduced sentence.

In court testimony, the men implicated more than 20 officials and politicians close to the president, including the former interior and finance ministers.

Petro came to power in 2022 with an ambitious program of social reforms and had previously called for a "thorough investigation into corruption, regardless of who falls."