Ecuador Detains Former Top Oil Officials in Latest Graft Probe
- Comptroller and previous Petroecuador CEO among those detained
- Scandal follows guilty plea of bribery by former Gunvor trader
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Authorities in Ecuador detained fourteen current and former senior government officials, including Pablo Flores, the one-time boss of state-owned Petroecuador, less than a week after allegations of bribery involving the company emerged from a U.S. investigation.
A team of prosecutors and police led by Prosecutor General Diana Salazar searched residences and offices in three Ecuadorian cities and seized computers and cash. Those detained under suspicion of organized crime also include Pablo Celi, the current comptroller general and former Oil Minister Jose Agusto.