Politics
08:00, 14-Dec-2017
Ecuador's VP sentenced to six years in prison for corruption
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Ecuador's vice president, Jorge Glas, has been sentenced to six years in prison on a corruption charge.
He was found guilty on Wednesday of receiving illicit funds in the bribery scheme run by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.
It was the first sentence handed down by an Ecuadorean court in the Odebrecht scandal, which has swept Latin America. Four others were given the same penalty as Glas, including his uncle, Ricardo Rivera.
Three others were condemned to 14 months in prison, a reduced sentence in exchange for having cooperated with the authorities. A final suspect was found not guilty.
The court also ordered the convicted individuals to jointly repay the embezzled sum of 33.3 million US dollars to the state.
The prosecutor’s office had accused Glas of receiving a roughly 13.5-million-dollar bribe through his uncle.
Ecuador's vice president Jorge Glas arrives at the National Court of Justice for his sentencing hearing, in Quito, Wednesday. /VCG Photo
Ecuador's vice president Jorge Glas arrives at the National Court of Justice for his sentencing hearing, in Quito, Wednesday. /VCG Photo
Judge Edgar Flores, the president of the National Justice Court, said that the corruption case had also included other crimes, including influence peddling and money laundering.
He added that the court had received evidence from the US Department of Justice and a former Odebrecht executive, Jose Conceicao Santos.
Glas, 48, was minister of telecommunications from 2009 to 2010 before serving as vice president since 2013 to former president Rafael Correa and current president Lenin Moreno.
He has been in preventive custody in Quito since October 2. However, during the trial, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence and refused to step down as vice president. He can appeal the sentence.
Glas is now the highest ranking official to be jailed within the Odebrecht scandal.
Odebrecht, Brazil's largest construction company, was found to have bribed officials across Latin America in exchange for public infrastructure contracts.
According to documents provided by the US, the firm paid out 33.5 million dollars in bribes to Ecuadorian officials between 2007 and 2016.
Glas also faces the possibility of impeachment by the national assembly.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency