A corruption scandal in Ecuador has rocked the circle close to President Laso | International

The resignation of the Anti-Corruption Secretary Guillermo Lazo Govt It was amazing. This happened minutes before journalists left standing and empty chairs at a press conference in which his representative, Luis Verdezoto, explained the details of the organization’s report that raised seven hypotheses about how corruption is structured. Four state oil, telecommunications and electricity companies touch many Ecuadorian government officials.

One of them is Hernán Luque, appointed by the President as representative for the management of EMCO, coordinator of public institutions, who will leave the post in October 2022. Luke Laso is no stranger to the role as he has held many high profile positions. – Hierarchy of positions in Banco de Guayaquil, in which the President was the main shareholder.

The first signs of irregularities became known on January 6 with the release of some audios by the network revealing alleged corruption in government agencies that put Hernán Luk at the center of the network. But after 14 days, the prosecutor’s office opened an investigation Meetingrefers to slogan The government used to and now only replaced it Government of Ecuador.

In the audios, Luke talks to Leonardo Cortazar – who announces the recordings – and admits in an interview with Digital Media Position He plays the role of operator and advocate for managing contracts and irregular charges in the State Electricity Company (Cnel). In one of the leaks, a conversation between the two on how to manage the other public company responsible for oil cargo (Flopec) was exposed. “$150,000 a month, deposited into an account in Andorra,” Luke asks. The President admitted in an interview that Hernán Luque’s voice was similar.

In these audios, Danilo Carrera, Lasso’s brother-in-law, is mentioned as the leader of the corruption conspiracy in the public institutions, who denied his participation and sued the journalist who disclosed the information. “It has never been, is not and never will be in this government Brother-in-law of the President of the Republic,” the president said on a national television channel. “He accepts his responsibilities,” he said, referring to his brother-in-law. “My duty is to protect the integrity of my government.” A few days ago, Lasso defended him: “Danilo Carrera is an honorable and innocent man.”

to the government It was difficult for him to maintain a clear reaction to the matter. Luk resigned as manager of public enterprises in October 2022; However, in December, when the president was asked why the official left the administration, he responded succinctly: “People want to resign and leave and change their position, what can I do?” However, in his last address on January 22, he said, “He left the government because there was no confidence in him.”

The president ordered an investigation into the corruption conspiracy appointed by the anti-corruption secretary, but he resigned minutes before the report was to be exposed, the results of which the government rejected. case Meeting An earthquake left eight trials by the state prosecutor’s office Resignation in 13 public companiesA new front with the opposition in the legislature set up a commission to investigate the alleged network of corruption and the whereabouts of prime suspect Hernán Luque.

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