Ecuador’s vice president has been sentenced to six years in prison for taking illegal kickbacks from a Brazilian construction giant (file image)
Ecuador’s vice president has been sentenced to six years in prison for taking illegal kickbacks from a Brazilian construction giant.
Jorge Glas is highest-ranking politician to be convicted in the sprawling case centered on Odebrecht, whose practice of giving bribes to secure public works contracts has cast a cloud over officials and ex-officials in several Latin American countries.
Glas, 48, had been in preventive custody since October.
His trial before Ecuador’s Supreme Court started last month and he was sentenced today.
Prosecutors said he received a total of $13.5 million in Odebrecht bribes, via an uncle who is also under arrest.
Fallout from the massive Odebrecht corruption scandal has continued to sweep Latin America.
The company, which has admitted to paying bribes to win contracts in a number of countries, has already paid $3.5 billion in settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland.
A close ally of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, Glas served as Correa’s vice president from 2013 and retained the position under current President Lenin Moreno.
In August he was suspended from his duties by Moreno, who accused him of not being a team player.