Prosecutor accused 15 people in the Singue case, including Jorge Glas, former vice president of Ecuador

The hearing is held on the eighth floor of the National Court of Justice (CNJ). The lawyers asked for the nullity of the process to be declared due to an alleged expiration of a Comptroller’s report, which dates back to 2017, in which their clients were indicated.

Also, they said that the process should not continue due to an alleged defenselessness within the process. But this was not accepted.

Prosecutor accused 15 people in the Singue case, including Jorge Glas, former vice president of Ecuador

Judge Saquicela declared the validity of the proceedings. Then, the attorney general, Diana Salazar, proceeded to point out, individually, to each of them for their alleged participation in the case. He identified all as possible perpetrators of the crime of peculation.

Until 17:30, the Prosecutor continued her presentation in which she tried to identify how, allegedly, the 15 suspects would have participated in a plot that sought to benefit the DGC Consortium.

This is because the Comptroller determined evidence of criminal responsibility for a prejudice against the State due to the incorrect definition of the rate for the company benefiting from the contract for each barrel extracted.

At the hearing, he said that the signing of an exploration and exploitation contract signed with this firm caused damage to the State for USD 28.4 million.

At one point, inside the room, laughter was heard when the Prosecutor was exposing. Judge Saquicela again made use of the mallet and its base to call order.

This alleged crime investigates the former Vice President of the Republic, Jorge Glas, and former ministers and Carlos Pareja Yannuzzelli and Wilson Pástor, who led the hydrocarbons sector when the concession of the field occurred.

Pástor said that during his term as Minister of Non-Renewable Natural Resources, he said that this contract was beneficial for the State to receive USD 150 million “while the company has not yet recovered the investments, how can we talk about peculation?” He questioned.

The hearing extended from 09:00 and extended until after 17:30. The representatives of eleven of the 15 suspects indicated that there are problems with the time of the Comptroller’s report that raises signs of criminal responsibility. Carlos Pareja Yannuzzelli’s lawyer said in the morning that the Comptroller’s report was out of date.

According to the files of the process, the work order for that report was made on September 12, 2016 and its approval was made on August 1, 2017.

With this, it would have exceeded the 180-day term that the Comptroller had to present that report that served to investigate the. However, the Comptroller’s representative rejected that position by stating that there was a modification of the order on October 14, 2016. Thus , he said, was not breached by the days determined by the Law.

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/fiscalia-acusacion-peculado-caso-singue.html