The defense of the AMT agent, involved in an alleged organized crime plot involving the Bucaram family, did not arrive.
“I refuse to receive a defense from a professional that I do not trust,” were the words with which Leandro B., AMT agent, asked to postpone the hearing for organized crime that also involves Abdalá Bucaram and his son Jacobo.
The agent who – according to the Prosecutor’s Office – escorted Israeli businessmen who irregularly sold medical supplies such as masks and covid tests, in 2020, did not accept a public defender. This led to the cancellation of this procedure that has not progressed for two years.
The Judge explained that the lawyer who did not attend the hearing will be sanctioned with two basic salaries and has 72 hours to justify his absence. Furthermore, if he does not appear on another occasion, the person involved must accept the public defense.
For its part, Abdalá and Jacobo Bucaram connected to the audience via zoom.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, three AMT agents provided security to two Israeli citizens who arrived in Quito at the beginning of the pandemic and began the irregular purchase and sale of medical supplies and Covid-19 tests.
In 2021, LA HORA spoke with the prosecutor in charge of the case and learned that there were videos where the agents were seen escorting the businessmen along the preferential lane of the Ecovía. They were escorted, during working hours, with AMT uniforms and resources from north to south.
The fiscal hypothesis also indicates that former president Abdalá Bucaram and his son Jacobo are involved, who on February 20, 2024 have the preparatory hearing for the trial where the Prosecutor’s Office must present a formal accusation against the Bucarams and an AMT agent.
While in 2021, two of the three agents accepted abbreviated proceedings and were sentenced to five years in prison for organized crime.
While one of the Israelis were murdered in the Guayaquil prison, the other is part of witness protection. (AVV)
What is the link between the AMT of Quito and the Bucaram?