The Attorney General’s Office links him to the far-right paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces.

On Thursday, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office seized four properties belonging to singer Charlie Zaa, valued at over US$14.1 million, as part of an investigation into the resources of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

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According to the Attorney General’s Office, the properties include a shopping center, two nightclubs, and a hotel located in Cundinamarca and Tolima. Charlie Zaa, the stage name of Carlos Alberto Sanchez, is one of Colombia’s most renowned bolero singers, famous since the late 1990s.

The investigation alleges that Diego Jose Martinez, alias Daniel, former commander of the AUC’s Tolima Bloc, used intermediaries to invest in real estate and conceal the illicit origin of the funds.

The process began in July 2025, when the Superior Court of Bogota ordered precautionary measures on the singer’s assets as part of a forfeiture proceeding for alleged money laundering.

The text reads, “Colombian Attorney General’s Office seized four assets valued at more than US$14.1 million that, apparently, would belong to singer Charlie Zaa, and would be related to funds from the now-defunct Tolima Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

The AUC Tolima Bloc operated between 1998 and 2005 and, according to the National Center for Historical Memory, was implicated in at least 20 massacres, 270 collective killings, and more than 180 forced disappearances.

The case arose from testimonies of former paramilitary members in proceedings under the Justice and Peace Law, who indicated that Zaa had been the “public face” of assets linked to alias Daniel, who died in 2009.

After the investigation became public in 2025, Charlie Zaa rejected the accusations, asked for respect for his presumption of innocence, and asserted that his assets were the result of “honest and constant work” over three decades.

The artist expressed his willingness to cooperate with the authorities to prove his innocence, insisting that his wealth comes exclusively from his musical career and not from links with illegal armed groups.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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