COLOMBIA’S Constitutional Court has blocked an electoral body from investigating accusations of illicit campaign financing and unreported spending by President Gustavo Petro.

Thursday’s ruling delivered a legal victory to the left-wing president.

The court ruled that only Congress can investigate alleged irregularities in the financing of Mr Petro’s 2022 campaign.

He has denied any financial impropriety.

The ruling scraps a probe by the National Electoral Council into whether Mr Petro’s campaign exceeded fundraising limits by about $1.2 million (around £900,000) and whether it accepted trade unions funding, which is banned under Colombian law.

The council is an administrative body that supervises the electoral process and oversees campaign financing. It can also impose administrative sanctions, such as hefty fines for campaign staff.

The court ordered the electoral council to refer its investigation to Colombia’s House of Representatives.

The president applauded the court’s decision, posting: “Well done to the Constitutional Court” on the X social media platform.

This was just the latest in a swathe of accusations over the financing of Mr Petro’s campaign.

The attorney general’s office has also been investigating the president’s son Nicolas over allegations that the campaign took funds from criminal sources, including a notorious former drug trafficker.