QUITO, March 5 (Reuters) - The Ecuadorian prosecutor's office requested this Thursday up to eight years in prison for the former president Rafael Correa and a reparation to the State for some 1.13 billion dollars in the framework of a trial for alleged bribes requested from contractors to finance electoral campaigns between 2012 and 2016.
In August of last year, a judge ordered preventive detention against Correa in the case and in February 2020 a criminal trial began for the crime of bribery against some 21 former officials and businessmen, including the former president, who resides in Belgium.
Prosecutor Diana Salazar asked the court of the National Court of Justice (CNJ) for the maximum sentence for Correa for this type of crime and to consider aggravating factors such as "mediate perpetrator for having control of the organization and absolute power over the structure, as well as for being a beneficiary of bribes".
The request for the maximum sentence made by the prosecution also extends to others involved, including former vice president Jorge Glas, currently in prison for another case, former ministers and some State contractors.
However, the judges who make up the court will be the ones who decide whether or not to accept the prosecutor's request and the final ruling on said accusations.
The crime of bribery has a maximum penalty in Ecuador of six years in prison and with aggravating circumstances it could reach eight years, according to the attorney general, Íñigo Salvador.
During the investigation, the prosecutor's office accused the leftist Correa of leading a "hierarchical structure" to raise funds from state contracting companies for more than 7.5 million dollars to finance some electoral campaigns in exchange for the awarding of infrastructure works contracts.
The prosecution also said that it requested a comprehensive reparation of 1.13 billion dollars, public apologies and the publication of the sentence in the press.
Correa has denied the accusations and has said that it is all about a persecution of the president Lenin Moreno, his political heir, who distanced himself from the former president since he came to power in May 2017.
"Now Salazar accuses us of 'organized crime', a crime different from bribery. The proof is that I had 'ministers and secretaries' (...) Let her do her mischief well. If she fails, she will be the prey," he said. Correa on his Twitter account.
Correa has not openly said whether he will run for president in 2021, but frequently talks about "taking back the Homeland," which could be harmed by an adverse court decision.
The former president also faces a prison order for an alleged kidnapping of an opposition politician.
(Reporting by José Llangarí. Written by Alexandra Valencia. Editing by Rodrigo Charme)
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