An Ecuadorean judge ordered that the country's current comptroller and former energy minister be placed under pre-trial detention on charges of organized crime related to state oil company Petroecuador, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Ecuador judge orders pre-trial detention for officials in oil graft case An Ecuadorean judge ordered that the country s current comptroller and former energy minister be placed under pre-trial detention on charges of organized crime related to state oil company Petroecuador, prosecutors said on Wednesday.Reuters | Quito | Updated: 14-04-2021 21:13 IST | Created: 14-04-2021 21:13 IST
An Ecuadorean judge ordered that the country s current comptroller and former energy minister be placed under pre-trial detention on charges of organized crime related to state oil company Petroecuador, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Prosecutors on Tuesday alleged that Comptroller Pablo Celi and former energy minister Jose Agusto Briones, who had also served as secretary to President Lenin Moreno, had abused their powers to orchestrate bribe payments related to Petroecuador contracts awarded between 2017 and 2020.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
QUITO, April 14 (Reuters) - An Ecuadorean judge ordered that the country’s current comptroller and former energy minister be placed under pre-trial detention on charges of organized crime related to state oil company Petroecuador, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Prosecutors on Tuesday alleged that Comptroller Pablo Celi and former energy minister Jose Agusto Briones, who had also served as secretary to President Lenin Moreno, had abused their powers to orchestrate bribe payments related to Petroecuador contracts awarded between 2017 and 2020.
Both officials were transferred to a jail in capital Quito after the judge from Ecuador’s National Court of Justice issued the ruling. The pre-trial detention measure can last up to 90 days. The charge of organized crime carries a possible prison sentence of between seven and 10 years.
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