Ecuador’s Right-Wing Candidate Denounced for Bank Embezzlement

The Union for Hope (UNES) presidential candidate Andres Arauz on Tuesday asked the Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office to investigate whether right-wing presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso is involved in bank embezzlement.

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The Leftist candidate pointed out that Lasso took advantage of his position as a shareholder of the Bank of Guayaquil to finance his electoral campaigns with resources from that institution.

Lasso "would have diverted private funds from that financial institution to use them to finance his electoral campaigns and to pay the pollster Cedatos. This would have happened through the company LIVERCOSTAS, which is owned by the business circle close to Guillermo Lasso", says the complaint, as reported by local outlet Pichincha Comunicaciones.

Arauz explained that financial institutions' officials, administrators, executives, or employees can be tried for embezzlement when actions such as those occur.

The penal code contemplates the figure of embezzlement for the case of members of boards of directors "who, abusing the functions of their position, fraudulently dispose of, appropriate, or distract private funds, goods, or money."

On Sunday, February 7, Ecuadorians will elect president, vice president, and lawmakers after a political campaign in which 15 candidates have made dirty tricks against Arauz, who was Science and Technology Minister during Rafael Correa's administration (2007-2017).

Despite their actions, in all opinion polls conducted by private companies, the socialist candidate is the favorite to become the next president of Ecuador.

According to the latest information available, Arauz occupies first place in voting intentions (40.46 percent) followed by Lasso (27.38 percent), Yaku Perez (15.28 percent), and 13 other candidates (16.88 percent).

If this projection of electoral preferences is confirmed, Arauz would win in a single round.