Petroecuador: Couple is tried for embezzlement

Ecuadornews:

Ex-manager of Refining and former Minister of Hydrocarbons Carlos Pareja Yannuzzelli returned to court.

The alleged overpricing in the contracting of the project for the Recovery of Condensates in the Esmeraldas Refinery motivated the new trial that was installed yesterday in the Northern Judicial Complex of Quito.

The prosecutor Mario Salazar accused Pareja as the perpetrator of the crime of embezzlement. He indicated as co-authors of the crime the ex-manager of Petroecuador Álex Bravo, the former official Diego Tapia and the businessman Jorge Vivar. The four were present in the room and will be judged by judges Daniel Tufiño, María Mercedes Suárez and Edmundo Samaniego.

The prosecutor explained to the court that in the trial he will prove that there were irregularities in the award of the contract, which was attempted against the principles of transparency and fair treatment.

He recalled that a commission was formed to analyze the offers submitted by three companies and that the firm Worley Parsons gave the go-ahead for the hiring of Vivar. According to the prosecutor there was a loss of 3.7 million that was left to collect in fines for the breach in which the contractor would have incurred.

The Comptroller’s office was the first witness of the Office of the Prosecutor. She related how the indications of criminal responsibility in the case were established.

After midday there was a break. The defenders of the defendants are sure that the trial will prove the innocence of their clients.

Juan Pablo Torres defends Jorge Vivar. According to him, the Comptroller’s report does not contain the analysis that correspond to a contractual and execution process. Nor does it analyze Petroecuador’s breaches. He said that it is illegal because the Comptroller’s Law prevents auditing contractual processes in execution and that is what was done in this case.

Diego Velasco, Bravo’s lawyer, insisted that his client in this particular case had no participation. He said that by his name he was linked and by the media importance that could mean not doing so.

He insisted that Bravo was not an administrator, did not subscribe or generate the need, nor was he part of the technical committee. He confirmed that none of the members who participated in the case is being prosecuted. Lenin Pérez, defender of Tapia, was calm because in the conclusions of the report not even named his client.

Miguel Revelo, a lawyer for Pareja, insisted that the contracting processes were not the responsibility of his client.

In October of 2017, Pareja was sentenced to six years in prison for illicit association. He also received a sentence for illicit enrichment. Bravo was also sentenced for corruption in Petroecuador. Until the close of this edition the hearing continued. (I)

Source: https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/petroecuador-juicios-corrupcion-fiscalia-carlospareja-FX2404799