- Title: Ecuador´s VP "not scared" of Odebrecht corruption investigations
- Date: 21st June 2017
- Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (JUNE 21, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ECUADOR'S VICE PRESIDENT JORGE GLAS WALKING INTO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SUPPORTERS CHANTING GLAS GREETING MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY´S AUDIT COMMITTEE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADOR'S VICE PRESIDENT JORGE GLAS, SAYING: (Referring to uncle, on mother's side, under investigation for allegedly receiving bribes from Odebrecht) "(Suggestions) of Ricardo Rivera being my front man. Well no. I don't have front men. What I have is my heritage, which is public knowledge. I have nothing to hide and if someone has committed a crime in my name, then that will have to be investigated transparently, independently. And I was the first one to support the actions of the justice system. Meetings with Odebrecht, we had many, on the subject of the San Francisco (hydroelectric plant), with international lawyers, local lawyers, international technicians, even with Marcelo Odebrecht himself. Again, if Marcelo Odebrecht had offered me money, I would've turned it down and I would've put him in jail, which is where he belongs." ASSEMBLY MEMBER QUESTIONING GLAS GLAS APPROACHING PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADOR'S VICE PRESIDENT JORGE GLAS, SAYING: "I repeat, they must investigate everything and everyone. Not only in the present day but 40 years back and 40 years ahead. I'm not scared. The only thing that could happen is for someone to come forward with a newspaper clipping from La Estrella or from Panama, gossip on the front cover of a party newspaper. But they did not publish a story when the court system issued a certificate stating there is nothing on Glas, when the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Unit made it known that Glas had nothing, that his wife has nothing, that everything was a lie. And I don't care about those defendants and those convicted that, in looking to reduce their penalties, try to involve me in any act of corruption. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." GENERAL VIEW OF ASSEMBLY, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY GUARD ASKING SUPPORTER TO SIT DOWN ASSEMBLY MEMBERS LISTENING TO GLAS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADOR'S VICE PRESIDENT JORGE GLAS, SAYING: "I'm here facing you. I have not gone anywhere. I'm not going to Panama. I'm not going to Miami. I'm not going to Peru. And I think we should seek international legislation so that no corrupt people can hide in any country on the planet and respond to the justice of each of their nations. That is the fight against corruption." SUPPORTERS CHEERING BEFORE GLAS GLAS HUGGING SUPPORTERS
- Embargoed: 5th July 2017 22:39
- Keywords: Ecuador Odebrecht Jorge Glas
- Location: QUITO, ECUADOR
- City: QUITO, ECUADOR
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA0016M849C3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ecuador´s Vice-President, Jorge Glas, told the National Assembly on Wednesday (June 21he is "not scared" of investigations into his possible involvement in Brazilian construction company Odebrecht's corruption scandal.
Glas, who oversaw the oil and infrastructure sectors while serving as strategic sectors minister, said he had many meetings with Odebrecht and its former president now detained in Brazil, Marcelo Odebrecht, but denied any wrongdoing. He said if offered money by Marcelo Odebrecht, he would have turned it down and put him in jail.
He said his uncle, Ricardo Rivera, who was arrested at the start of the month, was not his "front man". He denounced what he called as "gossip" in newspapers and welcomed an international investigation to prevent suspects of corruption hiding abroad.
Glas, a childhood friend of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa who also served as his vice president, has been accused by a fugitive former oil minister of being "the ringleader" of a bribe network in the energy sector.
In over a dozen raids in Ecuador, authorities found cash, luxury cars, weapons, jewels, a check from Odebrecht for $980,000, and documents linked to the case, the prosecutor's office said.
Odebrecht allegedly paid $33.5 million in bribes to secure contracts in Ecuador. The opposition says the ruling Country Alliance party was slow to investigate, although Correa rejected that. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
