Correa ordered to testify in Amazon oil case

Attorney General Carlos Baca has ordered former president Rafael Correa to testify in an case of alleged corruption in an oil contract. Correa will be allowed to testify via video link from his home in Brussels.

Former president Rafael Correa

Baca’s order is based on an investigation by comptroller Pablo Celi that claims Correa was personally involved in the negotiations in a contract to extract oil from the the Pucuna oil field in the Amazon jungle. Celi says that there were “notable irregularities” in the negotiations and that contract terms were changed without explanation during the negotiations.

According to Celi, the irregularities involve Correa’s contact with the manager of Dygoil, one of several companies awarded contracts at Pucuna. Celi said that Correa demanded a 20 percent cash advance on earnings from Dygoil, a demand that was not made of the other companies drilling in the area.

César Guerra, president of Dygoil, has also been called to testify in the case.

In a Tweet last week from Brussels, Correa called Celi’s charges “garbage, and an act of political persecution” and demanded he resign his position.