Nilsen Arias, former international trade manager of Petroecuador, is currently facing legal proceedings in the United States due to a series of corruption and money laundering scandals involving the Chinese company Petrochina, which in turn is part of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). However, according to an Ecuadorian newscast, seven former Petroecuador officials were involved in these scandals, and that, besides Petrochina, the Chinese company Unipec, a subsidiary of Sinopec, was also involved in this incident. It has also been disclosed that eleven contracts were signed by these officials with the aforementioned companies, which were then renegotiated through 16 additional contracts. All this occurred between 2009 and 2016.
The charges against Arias include the receipt of approximately USD $18 million in his own domestic and international accounts and the accounts of family members. It is alleged that this is due to the intermediation of oil trade business between Ecuador and China, and estimated that the losses for the South American State are of around USD $5 billion.
Top headline:
El Comercio (Ecuador): Exgerente de Comercio Internacional de Petroecuador enfrenta un proceso judicial en EE.UU.
Find out more:
Primicias: Siete exfuncionarios participaron en 13 contratos petroleros con China.
Primicias: Caída de Nilsen Arias destapa red de sobornos en Petroecuador.
Infobae: Otro funcionario del correísmo es investigado en Estados Unidos por lavado de activos.