I cannot assure that it was vote buying, but it is shameful. I distance myself from that. We are going to analyze what measures to take", said Jaime Estrada about the four checks, $24,000 each, signed and delivered by Francisco Egas when he was a leader of Universidad Católica on January 9, 2019, three weeks before being elected as president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (and Estrada as vice president of the entity). All the checks have a sequence in terms of their respective numbering and were signed by the union official on the same day.
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By numerical order, the first check No. 000232 from current account No. 21000067-19 from Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, signed by Egas Larreátegui in favor of Club Puerto Quito, for the amount of $24,000. Then, check number 000233 from current account No. 21000067-19, also from the same institution, signed by Egas. "Pay to the order of" Orense Sporting Club the amount of $24,000, like all the others issued on January 9 of the previous year.
In the third check, number 000234, from current account No. 21000067-19 from Católica, Egas' signature appears again and it is cashed by Franklin Moya Zurita, at that time president of Liga de Loja. The amount and dates are repeated: $24,000 and January 9, 2019. The fourth check, numbered as 000235, from current account No. 21000067-19, from the university club, signed by the then presidential candidate of the EFE in favor of Rolando Terán Hidalgo, who was the general coordinator of Santa Rita vinceño. Amount and date: $24,000, issued on January 9, 2019.
"The characteristic of Egas' management has been that of hidden management, that of confidential clauses. It is a shame (the issue of the four checks delivered by Egas 22 days before being elected president of the Ecuafútbol). I cannot say that it was vote buying, let them answer that. One of the beneficiaries says that it was because of sponsorship (for advertising, as Terán declared in the newspaper Expreso), but one club does not sponsor another (that competes) under the same organization. Egas justifies that there was a loan (that one of the checks delivered was for "assignment of claims from a television rights debt"), then he should justify that he received those payments (what he supposedly lent) and that the LigaPro verifies that and that Egas cleans his image", said Estada in EL UNIVERSO.
The Manabí leader added: "I distance myself from all this. We worked as a team and in that way, as a vice presidential candidate, it was my responsibility (in the campaign) to approach and talk to club officials and associations with whom I have closeness for them to vote for us. But this is another matter. We are talking about checks delivered and cashed", clarified Estrada.
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Estrada, appointed president of the EFE by six out of nine members of the board of the organization on April 24th, and ratified as such on May 1st in an Extraordinary Congress with 46 votes in favor of him (there were two abstentions), and waiting for a resolution from FIFA's Disciplinary Committee, which opened a case against Egas for breaking the express prohibition of the organization based in Switzerland to go to ordinary justice, revealed the steps he plans to take to request clarification on the check case.
"It does not look good that 22 days before an election this happens. We are going to analyze with a team of lawyers what measures to take. First, we are going to ask the LigaPro for an internal investigation, to report if those amounts (loaned, $24,000 to each club) were returned. If there was any statutory violation, we will see to which instance we will transfer our request for investigation and clarification", Estrada anticipated.
"There's nothing wrong there. I suppose they are trying to support some news that I bought a vote or something like that... They will not find anything wrong there", Egas assured in Expreso.
According to the FIFA Code of Ethics in its subsection 2, which deals with 'Conflict of Interests, economic benefits and protection of personal rights', it says in article 19 the following: "19 Conflict of interests: 1. Persons subject to this code shall not exercise their functions (in particular, preparing and participating in decision-making) in situations in which there is a conflict of interests, whether real or possible, that may affect their performance. A conflict of interests arises when persons subject to this code have, or give the impression of having, secondary interests that may influence the fulfillment of their obligations in an independent, impartial and objective manner. Secondary interests mean any possible advantage that
benefits persons subject to this code or their affiliated parties, as defined in this code". (D)