Odebrecht says it paid Glas $14.1 million between 2012 and 2016; Claims Glas’ uncle was the intermediary

In testimony presented to Brazilian prosecutors, the Odebrecht official who paid bribes to dozens of Ecuadorian government officials and business contractors, says he transferred $14.1 million to Vice President Jorge Glas.

Vice President Jorge Glas

José Conceição Santos, who was Ecuador manager for Odebrecht operations, says the money was channeled through Glas’ uncle, Ricardo Rivera, between 2012 and 2016. Rivera is currently under house arrest in Guayaquil.

Conceição Santos’ testimony was published Thursday in the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. The same newspaper published parts of a conversation transcript on Monday in which Conceição Santos said that Glas was demanding bribes on all Odebrecht projects in Ecuador.

In his testimony, Conceição Santos described several meetings he had with Glas, including one in the vice president’s office in which Conceição Santos said Glas demanded money for a political campaign.

Glas acknowledged that the meetings took place but said they did not involve demands for money.

On release of the allegations, Glas again defended himself and maintained that there is no evidence to back claims of corruption against him. He said the new charges were part of a continuing smear campaign aimed at him personally and the government of former president Rafael Correa.