The fact that three Petroecuador managers have problems with the law at the same time -for the Minister of Energy, Fernando Santos- awakens all the alarms and the path would be to change the statist system in public companies.
The same day that the Prosecutor’s Office raided the management of the state oil company, they also entered the homes of the person who was manager until then, Hugo Aguiar, and the previous manager, Ítalo Cedeño. While in the case known as Las Torres, former Petroecuador manager Pablo Flores was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. Everything happened on February 10 and for this reason Santos considers it a tragic Friday.
Aguiar, the low-profile manager who leaves Petroecuador, after dodging criticism and scandals, for six months
“The problem is statism,” said the minister in an interview with Ecuavisa, and commented that during the government of Rafael Correa “they wanted the State to manage society, that private companies be relegated. The state ones were given a great amplitude. The Petroecuador manager has the capacity to transfer up to $100 million without authorization from the board of directors. That is allowed by law. It is necessary to change, it is not simply the people, it is the statistic system that has reached its exhaustion”.
Santos justified that Aguiar had been ratified only a week before the raid on his home, because “a company cannot remain without an owner for many days, it was reaching that limit and Aguiar’s period was extended, but they are charges of free removal . It’s not that we don’t listen to the public.” Aguiar resigned on Friday, one day before he was replaced.
Las Torres case: ex-controller Pablo Celi and ex-manager of Petroecuador Pablo Flores are sentenced to 13 years and four months in jail
And regarding the alert given in a report by the Organization of American States (OAS) that in 2019 Ecuador exported $76 million in gold to China, but $339 million arrived there, the minister said that it is up to Customs to make the complaint. “I, too, have read this report with horror. But that is the work of Customs, Customs has to modernize and report this fact to the Prosecutor’s Office”.
in the report After the illicit gold money it is indicated that the disparities in the commercial values reported and the abrupt increase of these exports seem to indicate the use of a new way for the commercialization of illicit gold from Ecuador, and that “there are legal companies, such as local gold processors and dealers, that They are expanding their operations and getting involved in the illicit gold trade.”
https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/economia/ecuador-exporto-76-millones-de-dolares-en-oro-a-china-pero-llegaron-339-millones-de-dolares-el-dato- set-alerts-of-the-oea-note/
Along with the report, the OAS congratulated the government for declaring illegal mining a threat to state security. And they are working on it, Santos said, mentioning that last week operations were carried out in Buenos Aires, also in the province of El Oro, in the Oriente, evicting illegal miners. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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