The fund that gave $ 6,000 to former President Rafael Correa never existed

The so-called Solidarity Fund, established in the previous government as an aid instance and from which former President Rafael C. received a deposit of $ 6,000, never existed.

Iñigo Salvador: “The fund that gave $ 6,000 to former President Rafael Correa never existed”

This was demonstrated on Thursday, February 20, 2020 by the State Attorney General , Diana Salazar, on the seventh day of the Bribes 2012-2016 hearing , for which 21 people who had committed the crime of bribery are prosecuted .

After Wednesday, February 19, concluded with the presentation of the testimonial and expert evidence , this Thursday, the Prosecutor presented his documentary evidence.

Among them, certifications of the Presidency of the Republic on the non-existence of the solidarity fund , which strengthened the thesis that the alleged loan that the former president received came from the resources coming from the bribes of the contractor companies with the State.

Another document said that there was no authorization to lease offices in the Concorde building , from where Pamela M., the ex-advisor of Rafael C., who was the executing arm of the ex-president’s orders, dispatched.

About three hours it took the attorney general to publicize the documentary evidence he had, to strengthen his theory that in the previous government a supposed criminal structure was constituted involved in the reception and distribution of alleged contributions from contractor companies of the State , in exchange for securing contracts.

Trades, documents, invoices , copies of contracts and information from public institutions were presented in 27 folders. In the afternoon, the lawyers of the defendants agreed to these documentary evidence from the Prosecutor’s Office in order to review them and, if necessary, issue objections and arguments to them.

Sufficient evidence

For Attorney General Diana Salazar, the three anticipated testimonies, the 31 witnesses and experts, as well as the 27 folders with documents, are evidence “more than enough to prove that the 21 defendants committed the crime of bribery .”

He justified the decision to present only 34 evidence among testimonies, witnesses and experts of the 166 he announced, arguing that that was enough to prove the theory of the case.

He also reiterated that a scientific technical expertise determined that former President Rafael C. led and organized a “criminal structure” that operated between 2012 and 2016, which under the modality of crossing invoices and cash received bribes.

Salazar said that among the tests that are now part of the file, is the information that corresponds to the invoices of the suppliers that delivered the service to the PAIS Alliance movement and to the previous government for several of their projects . These were canceled by the companies. “These companies were not beneficiaries of the services, but of millionaire contracts,” he said.

Harrison Salcedo, a lawyer for former Vice President Jorge G., said the Prosecutor’s Office does not have sufficient evidence to prove that his client committed the crime.

Calixto Vallejo, a lawyer for Viviana B., said the Prosecutor’s Office has not and has not presented a single test against its defendant.

Tests
3 advance testimonials
At the trial hearing, the State Attorney General, Diana Salazar, began presenting her evidence with the anticipated testimony rendered by the defendants Pamela M. and Laura T., as well as the former executive of Odebrecht, José Santos.

31 testimonies of experts and witnesses presented the Prosecutor’s Office, of the 163 that in principle had announced.

27 folders with documents
Offices, letters, copies of contracts, invoices, among others, appear in the 27 folders presented by the attorney general at the trial hearing, as documentary evidence to prove the crime.

https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/judicial/12/caso-sobornos-fondo