Iván Espinel is called to trial for alleged embezzlement for damage to the IESS

Ecuadornews:

After nine hours of trial hearing, Judge Patricio Vidal, of the Valdivia Judicial Unit, in the south of Guayaquil, decided to call Ivan Espinel and six others for the alleged crime of embezzlement.

The State Prosecutor General’s Office accused them of damage to the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) for USD 130 000 in contracts. The former Minister of Economic and Social Inclusion is prosecuted as an alleged perpetrator.

In the process, seven administrators of IESS contracts with private clinics were investigated. However, only six people were called to trial. For the investigations of the alleged crime, the Office of the Prosecutor was based ona criminal responsibility report prepared by the Comptroller General of the State, on the contracts signed during the management of Espinel between 2012and 2014.

The document allegedly mentions an economic damage of USD 43 million. However,during the hearing, the Prosecutor’s Office charged them with USD 130,000. This is the second trial facing Espinel, who was a presidential candidate in 2017.

On September 21, Judge Francisco Mendoza of the Canton’s Multicompetent Unit Samborondón, called him to trial for the alleged crime of money laundering. In that process he was accused based on a report from the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), which determined unusual movements in his bank accounts.

Espinelis currently held in the Social Rehabilitation Center of Guayaquil since September 22. On that date, a judge lifted the substitute measures for the use of electronic shackle and ordered his arrest again. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/ivan-espinel-juicio-peculado-iess.html