A former Ecuadorian official, Carlos Ramon Polit, 73, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering millions of dollars in bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian engineering firm. Polit, who served as Ecuador's comptroller, used his position to demand over $10 million in bribes from Odebrecht to make $100 million in government fines on a power-plant project disappear. Polit's trial is the first in the U.S. linked to the Odebrecht corruption network.
He then laundered the funds through various investments in Miami, including real estate and local businesses. Polit's son, John Christopher Polit, played a key role in hiding the money by creating shell companies. Though he hasn't been tried yet, John was charged in September with conspiring in the money laundering scheme.
Carlos Polit's defense attorneys tried to argue that the bribery amount was inflated and pushed for a lighter sentence, according to Miami Herald. However, the court ruled that Polit had abused his position of power and contributed to undermining public trust. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams sentenced him to 10 years, lower than the recommended 12-15 years due to his age and health.
In April, a federal jury in Miami unanimously convicted Carlos Polit of conspiracy to commit money laundering, along with five related charges, each carrying a sentence of up to 20 years. Polit immediately turned himself in and has been held at the Miami Federal Detention Center since then.
The U.S. government plans to seize $16.5 million in assets from Polit, including a luxury home in Miami's Cocoplum neighborhood.
In court, testimony from Odebrecht executives revealed how Polit extorted the company, and how the bribery funds were laundered through Miami with the help of his son. Prosecutors demonstrated that Carlos and John Polit worked together in concealing the money, using witnesses and a paper trail of financial transactions.
The Odebrecht scandal is one of the largest corruption cases in Latin American history, involving the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. In 2016, the company admitted to paying nearly $800 million in bribes to high-ranking officials and politicians across 12 countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Venezuela, to secure lucrative public contracts.
This confession came as part of a leniency deal with U.S. and Swiss authorities, where Odebrecht agreed to pay $2.6 billion in fines. The revelations from over 70 company executives, who struck plea deals, had widespread political and economic consequences, shaking governments and prompting investigations across the region.
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