Anti-Corruption Commission demands that Luque and Manzano be included in the Progen investigation

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is demanding the Attorney General’s Office include Transport and Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque and former Energy Minister Inés Manzano among those charged in the Progen electric generator scandal.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque

Germán Rodas, coordinator of the commission claims, “The Progen fiasco constituted a great assault on the country, so why are those at the top of the administrative structure not being investigated.” He says it appears that the government has “arranged impunity” for Luque and Manzano.

“Those two [Luque and Manzano] were in charge of purchasing and signing off on the delivery of the generators and so far they walk free. Why?” Rodas asks.

To date, prosecutors have named 22 defendants in the scandal, most of them technicians and low-level managers at Celec, the national electric company, and in the Energy Ministry. Manzano and former Luque, who served as energy minister before Manzano were not named.

Although the Anti-Corruption Commission, made up for former judges and prosecutors, is independent of the government, its past recommends have frequently been followed by authorities.

Former Energy Minister Inés Manzano

The purchase of the mobile electric generators in 2024 came during a period of daily electric blackouts, some as long as 14 hours. After the generators were delivered to sites in Quevedo and Salitral, it was discovered that they had been previously used, were in poor mechanical condition and were incompatible with Ecuador’s electrical system. The $104 million paid to Progen has not been recovered.

Rodas pointed out that when Luque was called to give his version of the purchase of the generators to prosecutors, he invoked the right to silence. “That is a legal absurdity,” Rodas said. “He is a public servant and is charged with providing fair and open explanations of his actions in office. “What is he achieving with his right to silence, except to raise suspicions of his actions regarding the Progen deal.”

Rodas added that there should be “no omissions” in the prosecutor’s investigation. “It appears however that this is the intent of higher authorities in this case,” he says.