The Prosecutor’s Office of Ecuador reported Monday, July 25, that it is investigating former President Lenín Moreno (2017-2021) for the alleged disappearance of patrimonial pieces in the headquarters of the national government.
“Diligences are carried out in the home of former president Lenin M., in the context of a previous investigation for an alleged crime of embezzlement, related to patrimonial pieces allegedly missing from Carondelet,” in the colonial center of Quito, the Prosecutor’s Office said on Twitter.
Embezzlement, which includes the appropriation of goods, is a non-applicable crime in Ecuador and is punishable by up to 13 years in prison.
Moreno, who rejects the accusation, was denounced last July 14 by congresswoman Pamela Aguirre of the Union for Hope (Unes) party, akin to former socialist president Rafael Correa (2007-2017).
The former president, who serves as commissioner of the Organization of American States (OAS) for Disability Affairs, said that he “invited” the Prosecutor General’s Office to verify the alleged “illegal possession of archaeological pieces”.
MORENO DENIES THE ACCUSATIONS
“It is simply another tale of the many that have been invented,” Moreno defended himself on Twitter, who governed in binomial with Correa between 2007 and 2013 but became his adversary upon coming to power.
In a letter disseminated on the same social network the day the complaint was filed, Moreno explained that the valuable assets in the Carondelet Palace, headquarters of the national government, “were delivered as appropriate to the competent institutions for their registration and custody”.
During his mandate, Correa installed a museum inside the government house where jewelry and other gifts given to him during his tours inside and outside the country were exhibited, but his successor closed it.
Moreno acknowledged that he has “collected axes and a few pieces of pottery for more than 40 years” and that these goods “do not even exceed US$800”.
According to the former president, the archaeological pieces in his possession were registered and cataloged by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC).
With information from DW