The Commission for Truth, Justice and the Fight against Corruption of the National Assembly of Ecuador has voted in favor of recommending that the president, Guillermo Lasso, be investigated for the ‘Encuentro’ corruption case, also known as the ‘The Great Godfather’ case ‘.
With six affirmative votes, they have approved a report in which the Attorney General’s Office and the State Comptroller General’s Office are recommended to open proceedings against the president for alleged crimes of corruption, although it is not a binding decision.
In the statement published this Wednesday by the National Assembly, it is argued that the evidence reviewed by the body during the session, which lasted seven hours, shows sufficient evidence to corroborate the report in which Lasso is accused, and therefore ratifies his recommendation to investigate him.
"The President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, was warned by the former Anti-Corruption Secretary, Luis Verdesoto, of the possible acts of corruption and not only that he did not report them, but also tried to prevent the supervisory action of the National Assembly"reads the letter.
"not happy with this"the organism continues, "The Head of State interfered in the investigative process carried out by the State Attorney General’s Office, by allowing the Ministry of the Interior to facilitate the transfer of 37 police officers-investigators who coordinated actions with the State Attorney General’s Office".
The president of the Commission, Viviana Veloz (from Unión por la Esperanza, the party of former president Rafael Correa), has described this day as "historic for the country"after in February he reproached the president for not appearing at a hearing in the commission, to testify about the facts that were being investigated.
The ‘Encuentro’ case details an alleged corruption plot, brought to light by the newspaper ‘La Posta’ through leaked audios, for which Danilo Carrera, Lasso’s brother-in-law, received bribes from suppliers of the Electricity Corporation of Ecuador ( Celec) and Nacional de Electricidad (CNEL) to designate political responsibilities by hand.
