Ecuador Prosecutor Indicts VP Over Alleged Corruption

Ecuadorean Attorney General Carlos Baca has presented charges against Vice President Jorge Glas and other suspects for alleged ties to the Odebrecht bribery scheme. 

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Baca will now ask judge Miguel Jurado to take Glas to trial as part of his alleged involvement in a corruption scheme with the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The accusatory ruling has also been given to Glas' uncle, Ricardo Rivera, and 11 other suspects.

Previously, Baca had ruled that he wouldn't bring charges against five people, including four Brazilian citizens and the main informer of Odebrecht's representative in Ecuador, Jose Conceicao Santos.

Baca said his office "has not been able to establish with clarity and certainty the presumption of participation in the crime of illicit association that is being investigated."

Santos had already been charged and found guilty of corruption and faces eight years in prison.

Eduardo Franco, Glas' lawyer, said he will ask that Baca is removed from his position and arrested for the decision.

NOW Trial and preparatory hearing begins against people accused of illicit association #OdebrechtCase

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Regarding the abstention report against 4 Brazilians and 1 Ecuadorean, the Office of the Attorney General informs.

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"That proves the commitment and criminal action of the Attorney General," Franco said after the hearing began. "I will request his immediate arrest so that an acting prosecutor takes on his responsibilities."

Brazilian officials who have already been arrested signed a deal with the prosecutor to reduce their sentences if they name other people involved in the bribery scheme. They allege they had paid US$33 million in bribes to several people connected to the Ecuadorean government to win contracts, including Glas.

Glas has said that there is no evidence against him and that this move is a political retaliation for denouncing President Lenin Moreno and his pacts with the country's right wing, including bankers and large business owners.

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Glas, a close ally of former President Rafael Correa, has denounced the fact that the investigation on his alleged corruption charges is still pending. He turned himself in after the court ordered pre-trial detention and has been detained since Oct. 2 in a prison north of Quito, Ecuador's Capital.

The trial had been delayed by authorities as Glas' defense has presented several legal claims. Glas' lawyer presented an action against the judge overseeing the case, saying the arrest order was issued outside the terms established in the process of the initial allegations. Franco also filed a suit to substitute the preventive detention for an alternative measure. The court denied all proceedings.

Moreno appointed former Housing Minister Maria Alejandra Vicuna as acting vice president after his detention.

Meanwhile, the opposition attempted for a second time to bring a political trial against Glas to remove him from his position. The first attempt was denied by the National Assembly for not having evidence.