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Topic and Rivera with domestic problems
Posted On 25 Sep 2018
Ecuadornews:
An e-mail that circulated in mid-2011 could alter the relative tranquility of Tomislav Topic, director of Telconet, and Ricardo Rivera, uncle of Vice President Jorge Glas. The last two, sentenced to six years in prison for illicit association in the Odebrecht case.
Their ex-wife’s seem to be willing that the investigations not stay in that case and reach both for money laundering. The details of the document called ‘Testament of Tomislav Topic G.’ are in the possession of Tamar Verduga, his ex-wife.
At 10:00 he will render a version by videoconference from Miami, United States. The call was made in the previous investigation for money laundering, within the Odebrecht bribery scheme.
In the document, to which EXPRESO had access, several instructions are pointed out in the fear that “family struggles or power struggles within the company may generate paralysis or dismemberment that is not convenient”.
There is talk of the validity of the document, personal assets, investments, strategic decision making between Telconet and Megadatos and the rest of the companies, procedure in case of definitive absence.
They also mention keys for safes, insurance, debts, pending lawsuits, enemies, serious illness, donation of organs, personal accounts outside and inside the country, processing of Croatian citizenship, people to take care of, among others. Most sections can only be accessed with codes.
The ‘Telconet earrings’ are cited in the e-mail. “Ricardo Rivera placed his US $ 3M silver in the Merrill Lynch account. That money is his and we must give it back to him. Javier Galarza knows about the subject, “he says.
“I do not have any testament. I have never done it, “Topic told this newspaper. He added that “there is an original e-mail and a false one, adulterated and inconsistent” and that the original document is in the Office of the Prosecutor.
In addition to Verduga, Rivera’s ex-wife, Amparo Gómez, offered to provide papers that would show the businesses in which Rivera would have used relatives and employees to handle them and his relationship with Glas. The documentation is new and reflects accounts on behalf of third parties that would be from Rivera. She will seek to benefit from the protection of victims.
Gómez and her lawyer Daniel Frías will answer tomorrow in Guayaquil all the questions on this subject.
In the trial for illicit association Rivera was singled out for asking for money on behalf of his nephew. Glas warned that if transfers are shown in favor of his uncle, he would sue him for taking his name.
The prosecution demonstrated at the trial that Glas would have been the beneficiary of $ 13.5 million in bribes. His lawyer Eduardo Franco said he knows nothing about the subject. Aníbal Quinde, defender of Rivera, said that his client has not made any comment on the case.
Illicit association
At 09:30 today, the preparatory trial hearing against former President Rafael Correa and others in the Balda case is reinstated.
The judge is in charge of Judge Daniella Camacho. On Friday, the judge dismissed the case for former police commander Fausto Tamayo and for non-commissioned officer Jorge Espinosa, who received no accusation.
The situation was complicated for the intelligence agents Raúl Chicaiza and Diana Falcón, who decided to take advantage of the shortened trial. After almost six hours of proceedings, the judge rejected the Prosecutor’s proposal to impose 12 months in prison for both.
The refusal meant that their legal situation will be treated by the ordinary procedure. They were accused of the attempted kidnapping of politician Fernando Balda. With them are accused Correa and the former secretary of the Senain Pablo Romero. (I)
