Lenin Moreno says that international entities will support work against corruption

Ecuadornews:

President Lenin Moreno announced the night of this Monday, February 18, 2019 that will consolidate a model to confront corruption, in which international institutions will take part. In a national chain, the Head of State said that he arranged for Foreign Minister José Valencia to meet with the United Nations, the Transparency International Office, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the diplomatic corps on Tuesday, February 19.

The idea is to implement the initiative. “The country will emerge strengthened from this experience. Not only for the palpable demonstration of honesty that is required, but for all the learning and future experience that this will leave, “said the President.

He also recalled that his Government has submitted more than 500 complaints of alleged acts of corruption. Among the latter, he said, the Anti-Corruption Secretariat identified 17 alleged front men who would have helped to hide money and assets from corruption acquired by high-ranking former officials of the Rafael Correa government. “It makes clear that we need support in prevention, in laws, in the work of judges and prosecutors, in the mechanisms to ensure that the corrupt are sanctioned and that the stolen money is returned to its true owners,” Moreno added.

Currently, the State already has the assistance of the so-called Initiative for the Recovery of Assets Stolen by Corruption (STAR), of the World Bank and of the UN Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  

This initiative involves the Financial Analysis Unit, the Anti-Corruption Secretariat of the Presidency, the Prosecutor’s Office and other public entities that are part of the fight against corruption. Within the Government’s initiatives, it is expected that representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Anticorruption Secretariat will travel to Brazil on February 28.

The objective is to collect data on the investigation that Brazil pursued against the directors of the Odebrecht construction company. On Monday, the chief prosecutor in charge, Ruth Palacios, said that on this trip the missing information will be completed in more than one legal case.

For example, the version of Luiz Mameri, an Odebrecht informer, will be requested, who told the Brazilian courts that the payments made by Glory Internacional were bribes for former Vice President Jorge Glas.

In his statement, he also involved Alexis Mera, former legal secretary of Correa. Another initiative against corruption is presented this Tuesday, February 19. The Comptroller’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Secretariat and the Council of the Judiciary will sign a cooperation agreement.

This instrument will seek to “strengthen the constitutional competences within the framework of the fight against corruption and the recovery of assets”. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/lenin-moreno-onu-corrupcion.html