Ecuador court orders vice-president jailed in graft probe
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the jailing of Vice-President Jorge Glas while he is investigated for allegedly taking bribes from a Brazilian construction giant involved in a sprawling regional graft scandal.
Judge Miguel Jurado accepted a request from prosecutors that Glas be detained to guard against any attempt to escape. Until Monday’s ruling Glas was been free but barred from leaving the country.
Glas, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, took to Twitter to denounce the ruling as politically motivated. Still, he said he would respect the ruling, which he called “disgraceful attack” built on “forged” or non-existent evidence.
“You don’t have to go looking for me, I’m where I’ve always been,” he tweeted, vowing that he would exhaust all appeals nationally and internationally to clear his name.