Ecuador judge orders VP arrest in corruption scandal

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An Ecuadorean judge ordered pre-trial detention for Vice President Jorge Glas on Monday as part of an investigation into a corruption scandal concerning Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

48-year-old electrical engineer Glas has been accused by senior members of former President Rafael Correa's government of corruption while he was serving as a minister and vice president.

Judge Miguel Jurado approved a prosecutor's request for preventative detention on the grounds that Glas allegedly accepted bribes.

The judge also agreed to freeze his assets.

Glas said there is a lack of evidence to support the accusations, calling it a politicized campaign against him.

"Don't worry, you don't have to search for me, I'm where I always am," he posted on Twitter.

"I'm not going to escape. Those who are innocent never flee."

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

Fallout from the Odebrecht corruption scandal has continued to sweep Latin America.

It erupted 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 public contracts.

The company, which has admitted paying bribes to win contracts in a number of countries, has already paid 3.5 billion US dollars in settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland.

A close ally of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, Glas served as his vice president from 2013, a post he retained under current President Lenin Moreno.

In August he was suspended from his duties by Moreno, who accused him of not being a team player.

Source(s): Reuters