Ecuador's vice-president denies links to Odebrecht corruption case

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Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas denied on Wednesday any links to a corruption case involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, which is currently under investigation for bribing government officials in 12 countries.

Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas speaks before the supervision commission of the Ecuadorian National Assembly on the corruption case of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in Quito on June 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

"There is not one proof against me. I have nothing to hide, and my hands are clean," said Glas during a public hearing before the Fiscal Committee of Ecuador's National Assembly.

In a hearing that lasted almost three hours, Glas said that he was never part of any contracts being given to Odebrecht.

"I call publicly on...any state minister or any public company manager to say if Glas ever picked up the phone to ask for anything during a contracting process," he said.

Workers of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht build the new Brazilian naval submarine base in Itaguai, some 70 km south from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 7, 2017. /VCG Photo

Glas, who was the running mate of President Lenin Moreno in their winning presidential election campaign this year, called for this hearing to review his political history. He was also the vice president of former president, Rafael Correa, between 2013 and 2017.

He was seeking to quiet voices from the opposition which has accused him of being linked to Odebrecht.

The Odebrecht scandal broke out in Ecuador in December when the US Department of Justice revealed that the Brazilian firm paid 33.5 million US dollars in bribes to Ecuadorian officials between 2007 and 2016, in exchange for being granted public contracts.

People hold up signs during a protest against corruption and Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA, in Azua in the Dominican Republic, on May 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

During Wednesday's hearing, Glas said that in May a call had gone out for all officials and managers of public companies during the Correa government and past administrations to reveal their financial details, dating back to 1987, when Odebrecht began operating in Ecuador.

He said he strongly backed the call, adding that "let all be investigated, nobody is above the law."

(Source: Xinhua)

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