The Comptroller’s Office carried out special examinations of the patrimonial declarations of 25 generals of the National Police and detected indications of criminal responsibility in three cases.
The Minister of Government, Alexandra Vela, and the General Commander of Police, Tannya Varela, meet with the Comptroller General. Quito, December 15, 2021.
Note updated with the reaction of the Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, at 11:50 a.m. on August 5, 2022.
In December 2021, the police generals asked the Comptroller General to carry out a special examination of their asset declarations , as a reaction to the scandal of the so-called ‘narco generals’.
As a result of the examination, there are two generals in active service and one in passive service with indications of criminal responsibility because, according to the Comptroller’s Office, they have not been able to justify increases in their personal assets.
The entity made 24 special examinations of the sworn asset declarations of 25 generals, who were in active service at the beginning of the audit . The analysis covers the period between 2017 and 2021.
Next week, the Comptroller’s Office will send the three reports with indications of criminal responsibility to the Prosecutor’s Office , a source from the Comptroller’s Office told PRIMICIAS.
The Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, reacted and said that, indeed, in these days the report “that the Police themselves requested” will be published, after the comment made by the US ambassador, Michael Fitzpatrick.
“ We are waiting for that result , but the Comptroller does not have the obligation to transfer it to the Ministry or the Police, but directly to the Prosecutor’s Office,” explained the official.
In addition, Carrillo added that, “unofficially, we cannot give any information, but wait for the statement to reach the Prosecutor’s Office and the responsibilities will be determined there.” But he offered “absolute transparency and, in the event that new dismissals have to be given, we will present it to the President of the Republic.”
Since police casualties must be given by executive decree, a task that does not correspond to the Ministry of the Interior or the Police.
The request to analyze the assets of the Police generals was led by the former Minister of Government, Alexandra Vela, and the former Commander General of the Police, Tannya Varela.
It happened after Ambassador Fitzpatrick expressed in an interview with PRIMICIAS his concern about the existence of ‘narco generals’ in Ecuador.
Eight months ago, the government of President Guillermo Lasso said that it would request investigations in this regard from the Comptroller’s Office, the Superintendence of Banks and the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE).
The Comptroller’s Office is the first entity to announce the results of the investigations, which seek to establish whether there is interference of money from illegal activities in the State security forces .
Ambassador Fitzpatrick also mentioned that there are suspicions that drug traffickers have also infiltrated the Ecuadorian justice system, including some lawyers, judges and prosecutors.
