Anti-corruption commissioners face new demands

Former Minister of Electricity Esteban Albornoz sued the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CNA) for an apparent slander by its members. On this occasion, the plaintiff demands $ 1.2 million to each commissioner. The conciliation and adjudication hearing is scheduled for September 1s.t

In 2015, the Legislator of the Alianza Pais party filed a complaint about “slander and infamy” after the release of a CNA a report pointing out at alleged irregularities in the final price of the hydroelectric plant Manduriacu, a work awarded to Odebrecht.

For the Commission’s attorney Felipe Rodriguez, it is strange the fact that Judge Karen Matamoros is again chosen to judge the nine members.

Last Thursday, Matamoros found the commissioners guilty of the crime of slander against comptroller Carlos Pólit, although minutes after the resolution, after the plaintiff withdrew from the action, she declared the criminal action extinguished.

This lawsuit proved that Pólit was slandered through a complaint in which the CNA accused him of bribery within the Pacific Refinery case.

Governor of Pichincha Gustavo Baroja and the former manager of Petroecuador Pedro Merizalde also maintain pending cases against the CNA.

Baroja filed a civil suit for moral damages after being linked to acts of corruption in Manduriacu and seeks a compensation of $ 3 million.

In contrast, Merizalde, who is being investigated for perjury and money laundering in the Petroecuador case, charged them with the malicious complaint figure, based on an Anticorruption report related to the Pacific Refinery.