Educate and not indoctrinate, asks former vice president of Ecuador 2:03
(CNN Spanish) -
With 134 votes in favor of the 137 seats, the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved the call for impeachment against the former State Comptroller Pablo Celi, for alleged non-compliance with functions, responsibility in the fading of glosses (unjustified use of resources) and for being the subject of a process carried out by the criminal justice system.
Celi has been in preventive prison since April this year, after being detained along with other people during operations led by the Prosecutor's Office, which is processing him for the crime of organized crime.
The former official rejects the accusations and has repeatedly requested the lifting of the preventive prison to defend himself in freedom, which has been denied by the Justice.
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CNN contacted Marcelo Ron, Celi's attorney, who said the impeachment process "suffers from many flaws and violates constitutional principles."
According to Ron, the impeachment trial starts by prejudging Celi to "defuse conflicts between legislators and cover up the quarrels between them."
He added that his client will appear before the Assembly to defend himself and "disprove anomalies" in the trial.
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At the end of July, precisely when he went before the Legislative Power, Pablo Celi said that the process against him has no basis, that from his position he could not direct audits or resolutions and that he has not interfered in other functions of the State to benefit or benefit To thirds.
Celi denied having received money or favors in exchange for decisions of the institution and rejected the existence of a corruption structure.
In early July Carlos Riofrío replaced Pablo Celi as State Comptroller.
Celi had served as the interim controller since June 2017.
In the next few days, the president of the Assembly will have to convene a plenary session to initiate the impeachment.
The former comptroller may appear before the legislators to exercise his right to defense.
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Regarding the criminal process against Celi, the Prosecutor's Office reported that it investigated for a year and a half an alleged corruption structure that operated to demand undue payments in exchange for the fading of glosses and payments for contracts signed by the state oil company Petroecuador and other companies between 2017 and 2020. The leaders of this structure, according to the Prosecutor's Office, held high public positions.
Attorney General Diana Salazar informed the Assembly that there are also 18 investigations against former comptroller Pablo Celi, for possible concussion, influence peddling, procedural fraud, embezzlement and others.
He added that the six glosses vanished by Celi's alleged order would have represented US $ 13 million between 2017 and 2020. These are glosses from a company from which a relative of the former comptroller would have requested and received money.
Regarding the allegations of the Prosecutor's Office, Marcelo Ron, Celi's lawyer, told CNN that there is nothing against the former comptroller Pablo Celi that justifies that he has received money or has spoken with those involved to influence or receive bribes in exchange for favors.
The political situation of the former official could be defined in the Assembly in the coming weeks, while the judicial one will depend on the progress of the process that the Prosecutor's Office undertook against him.