Case against Pedro Delgado will continue even with demand

Pedro Delgado

During Monday afternoon, the National Court of Justice is planning an indictment hearing against Pedro Delgado Campana, former president of the Central Bank of Ecuador and cousin of the Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Delgado was accused for the crime of falsification, by a complaint introduced by Assembly member Enrique Herreria. The former officer had held several administrative  and public positions without being an economist, although he signed as such.

Before the indictment hearing, which it has been postponed twice already, on last Thursday Pedro Delgado’s attorneys filed two claims against the attorney general, Galo Chiriboga, and the deputy, Cecilia Armas, which, according to Delgado’s attorney, Juan Carlos Carmigniani and Xavier Solines Zea, would prevent the prosecutors to continue with the case.

Galo Chiriboga

Delgado advocates argued that both officials “have lost the objectivity and impartiality that is required for this type of case.” Previously the indictment hearing was set for March 28, but since the Delgado’s attorneys were in Miami, they called for an extension for April 8. However, four days before it took place, Delgado’s lawyers filed their complaint against Chiriboga and Armas, by handling an inquiry for the alleged crime of falsification of public documents, because they needed to have a civil judgment declaring false the defendant’s public instrument.

On the downside, sources within the prosecution reported that the accusation of malfeasance against prosecutors is a strategy of the defense of Delgado to prolong the process, and explained that for this disqualification to be effective a competent authority must first qualify it, and this has not happened yet. Chiriboga will attend the hearing scheduled for today.