The Prosecutor’s Office has 13 elements to argue the alleged involvement of Verónica Abad in the Nene case. Two former officials point it out directly.
Verónica Abad, vice president of the Republic, during a press conference, on November 28, 2023, in Quito.
The announcement was made on June 10, 2024. Through a video posted on the social networks of the Public Ministry, Carlos Alarcón, agent in charge of the Nene case, announced the decision to transfer the process to the National Court Jurisdiction Unit. of Justice (CNJ) due to the alleged involvement of Verónica Abad.
Alarcón indicated that in the midst of the tax investigation for alleged offers to carry out influence peddling, several proceedings have been ordered. For example, the expansion of the version of the complainant, who would have been hired “by direct order of the Vice President of the Republic (Verónica Abad).”
Furthermore, according to the investigator, there are telephone records through which “the alleged participation of Mrs. Verónica A(bad) in this case was determined.”
Given this situation, and because Abad is subject to the jurisdiction of the CNJ, the Prosecutor’s Office decided to transfer the process to the Unit in charge of this type of case.
Once the new Prosecutor of the National Court Jurisdiction Unit takes over the case, he will have to request the CNJ for a day and time to link Abad to the criminal process. From that moment on, the investigation will continue for an additional 30 days.
The 13 elements against Abad
PRIMICIAS accessed the document with which the Prosecutor’s Office requested the transfer of the case to the National Jurisdiction Unit. In that letter, agent Alarcón stated the elements that would involve Abad’s involvement in the case.
Two versions stand out on the list. In the first, the complainant says that Abad was aware of the economic negotiations to be granted a position in the Vice Presidency. A former official of that entity indicated that the Vice President ordered this hiring.
These are the 13 elements:
- Version by Mateo Sebastián DI, former official of the Vice Presidency of the Republic.
- Expansion of the version of the complainant Rommel Esteban P. Ch., who indicates that Abad had complete knowledge of these agreements and negotiations. The former official attached copies of chats with the Vice President.
- Version by Cornelio Guillermo ST, former official of the Vice Presidency of the Republic.
- Version by Myriam Elisa BE, former official of the Vice Presidency.
- Letter from the Chancellery, in which it attaches the functions that Abad currently performs.
- Document from the Pichincha Migration Support Service, with the migratory movements of the Vice President.
- Office of the Chancellery.
- Version by Romulo Estefano CA, former official of the Vice Presidency.
- Official letter from the National Technical Unit for Telecommunications Interceptions and Analysis, in which it attaches the information of the telephone number that is in the name of Abad.
- Version by José Andrés NM, Vice Presidential official.
- Version of Douglas Joseph CU, manager of the hotel where the meeting between the complainant and the Vice President’s son would have taken place.
- Version of Marco Polo MS, former Secretary General of the Vice Presidency, who indicated that Abad ordered him to hire the complainant as Communications Coordinator of the Vice Presidency.
- Version of Gruber Cesario ZA, who would have paid for a suite in which Daniel R., Abad’s advisor, would have stayed, and indicates that on one occasion he recommended that the Vice President stay in the same place.
The Nene and Abad case
In the early morning of March 22, 2024, authorities arrested Sebastián Barreiro, son of Vice President Abad. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Barreiro would have offered a position in the Vice Presidency in exchange for money.
According to the complainant’s story, which appears in the file, he would have started working as a public official in the Vice Presidency of the Republic in December 2023.
On the night of December 8, 2023, the injured party would have met with Sebastián Barreiro and Daniel R., Abad’s advisor, at a hotel in Quito.
The two allegedly offered him a job (Communication Coordinator) within the public service, with a salary of USD 3,200. However, of that amount, the victim had to deliver approximately USD 2,000 to Barreiro.
After a negotiation, they agreed that the victim would give close to USD 1,700 per month to the son of Vice President Abad.
To guarantee this payment, Barreiro and the other person convinced the complainant to sign a bill of exchange for USD 30,600, which would be used as support for the total amount that had to be paid within a period of one year.
After the charges were filed, Barreiro was imprisoned in La Roca Prison, in Guayaquil. But, after paying bail of USD 20,000, he was released.
On June 3, Abad was called to give a statement in the Nene case. But the official took advantage of the right to silence, since the Prosecutor’s Office refused to clarify whether she was summoned as a witness or suspect.
Abad was the partner of President Daniel Noboa. She took office on November 23, but after a public rift with the President, Abad was appointed as ambassador to Israel, where she has resided since the end of December 2023.
