ECUADOR
An Oval Cell?
Ecuador’s suspended Vice President Jorge Glas was sentenced to six years in jail for taking kickbacks from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht on Wednesday.
Glas is a close ally of the leftist former President Rafael Correa, under whom he also served as vice president before returning to the post under current President Lenin Moreno, Reuters reported. But Moreno has largely split from Correa and suspended Glas back in August, paving the way for a judge to order him placed in pre-trial detention in association with the Odebrecht case.
The public prosecutor’s office accused him of taking some $13.5-million in kickbacks in exchange for awarding government contracts to the Brazilian firm.
His lawyer said the court’s decision was “unjust” and vowed to appeal.
The so-called Odebrecht scandal also played a role in the ouster of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and threatens to take down her successor, Michel Temer. It has also resulted in a judge calling for the arrest of former President Alejandro Toledo in Peru, an investigation into President Juan Manuel Santos’ 2014 campaign in Colombia and the arrest of nearly a dozen officials in the Dominican Republic.
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