The former Minister of the Interior accused the former Minister of Government María Paula Romo of affecting the assets of the Police’s social security.
Inside of the impeachment to the Superintendent of Companies Victor Anchundia for alleged breach of functions in the investment control of the resources from the Police Social Security Institute (ISSPOL), this November 22, 2021, the former Minister of the Interior and former President of the Assembly appeared telematically from the United States, José Serrano.
Highlander was questioned about a possible closeness with Jorge Chérrez, nicknamed as ‘the magician’, and who is the main accused of the disappearance of funds from the ISSPOL allegedly invested.
Serrano said that the only time he had relationship with Chérrez It was in the wake of the 2016 earthquake and I had never heard of it before.
In the framework of the questions on the subject made to Highlander, the president of the Assembly’s Supervision Commission, Fernando Villavicencio, asked him about a check for $ 230 thousand drawn in 2018 by Chérrez to name Mary Christensen, who is identified as an official close to the former minister.
“Do you know this document delivered by the United States Justice?”, Asked the legislator to Highlander. And although Serrano admitted knowing about the document, when Villavicencio asked him about the purpose of the money, he limited himself to reading the content of the copy of the check, assuring that it was a payment related to a spa. Furthermore, he insisted that he did not know Jorge Chérrez.
Case #Isspol | @VillaFernando_ asked @ppsesa if you know this check issued to #Ecuador for the justice of #USA. Serrano said that he does recognize the check for $ 230,000 paid by Jorge Chérrez to María Paula Christiansen. pic.twitter.com/PVoR79IagN
– AN Inspection (@FiscalizacionAN) November 22, 2021
«I only came to find out that he had a relationship like financial intermediary or investor of the ISSPOL when he was president of the Assembly ”, he assured.
On the contrary, the former minister launched accusations against the Minister of Government during Lenín Moreno’s term, María Paula Romo. According to him, Romo would be one of those responsible for the crisis of the ISSPOL.
He showed a facsimile of the minutes of the organization’s board of directors meeting held on July 27, 2020 and that Romo would have chaired. In it, the exchange of bonds held by the entity was authorized, which -in the words of Highlander– would have been detrimental.
He also showed a letter from August 4, 2020, in which the former director of the ISSPOL, General Jorge Villarroel, in which he reports that there are $ 83 million of investments made without contracts. Regarding this, he did not specify if the transactions are related to decisions of the former minister.
María Paula Romo was the one who denounced the irregularity in the investments of the organization through transactions that would have been carried out before the exercise of her position. (MFU)
