A jury in the Southern District Court of Florida has found the former state comptroller general guilty, Carlos Polit Faggioneof the six criminal charges that the Department of Justice brought against him, including conspiracy to laundering of more than 10 million dollars linked to the Brazilian construction firm Odebrechtas reported by Judge Kathlee Williams.
The first charge for which he was convicted was money laundering conspiracy.
The second, third and fourth are for money laundering in the transfers made by the companies Plastiquim and Cosani to a Venture Overseas account in Floridaone of the companies John Politson of the former comptroller.
Fifth and sixth charge, for money laundering in the purchase of an office building and the remodeling of a house in Florida.
The 12 members of the jury, which began deliberations this Monday, unanimously declared Pólit guilty of all the charges against him for his participation in a criminal plot to use the US financial system in order to launder money, promote and hide an illegal bribery scheme in Ecuador.
According to the accusation, Pólit, between 2010 and 2016, he allegedly requested and received more than $10 million in bribe payments from Odebrecht SA, the powerful construction conglomerate based in Brazil.
He did so, using his “official position” to influence the official actions of the Comptroller’s Office for the benefit of Odebrecht and its businesses in Ecuador.
Additionally, court documents allege that around 2015 received a bribe from reinsurance businessman Diego Sánchez Silva in exchange for helping him and his company in relation to certain contracts of the state insurance company Sucre.
In 2018, former comptroller Pólit was already sentenced by the Ecuadorian justice system to six years in prison for the crime of receiving bribes from Odebrecht.
Judgment
Now, the judge in charge of the case, Kathleen Williams, has 45 days to hand down a sentence against Pólit, who faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
You must also decide if Pólit is detained immediately or if you give him a period of time to surrender to the authorities.
Prosecutor Alexander Kramer warned that there is a risk of flight, given that the former comptroller already fled Ecuador before an arrest and there is cash and property that has not been able to be traced. While the defense lawyer, Howard Srebnick, assured that Pólit has completed his house arrest without problems and there is no risk of escape.
The trial lasted ten days.
Carlos Pólit Faggione, currently 73 years old, was Comptroller General of the State during the president’s government Rafael Correawho used to praise him in public.
The Prosecutor’s Office is also seeking the forfeiture of two properties related to the illicit transactions that were discussed during the trial, including an office building and an apartment in the Merrick Manor building in Coral Gables.
Now he may face up to 10 years in prison for each count of participating in property transactions derived from criminal activities, says the US Department of Justice.
Already sentenced in Ecuador
In 2018, a court of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador sentenced him to 6 years in prison, and he was already a fugitive in the United States, considering him perpetrator of the crime of concussion in the Odebrecht bribery scheme.
This was reported then by the State Attorney General’s Office, which specified that His son, John Pólit, was sentenced to 3 years in prison as an accomplice to the crime of concussion.that is, when a public official in office demands or makes a person pay a contribution or charges more than what is due for the functions he or she performs.
Odebrecht SA pleaded guilty in 2016 in the Eastern District of New York to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), in connection with a broader scheme to pay nearly $800 million in bribes. to public officials in 12 countries, including Ecuador, the statement notes.
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