Ecuadorian authorities have arrested a former energy minister as part of an investigation into a corruption case linked to the state-owned oil company Petroecuador, the attorney general’s office announced Monday.

In October 2022, an investigation began against Javier Vera, the country’s former Minister of Energy, Mines and Mines, following allegations of corruption, as – among other things – he allegedly assigned positions to Petroecuador in exchange for bribes.

Officials from the attorney general’s office, with the support of the police, “executed an arrest warrant for Javier B. in the context of an investigation into alleged bribery,” the agency said on Twitter, declining to give the former minister’s full name.

Mr Vera, who remained in office for six months until he resigned last October, denies the accusations against him, calling them defamatory and saying they are part of an attempt to slander the government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso, a former banker.

He resigned hours after prosecutors raided properties he owns in the capital Quito and Guayaquil, his office and a hotel in the capital where another person allegedly involved in the same case was staying.

The prosecutor’s office said Mr. Vera was arrested to ensure he would appear before justice, without giving further details.

“The former minister has been out of the country more than once since these proceedings began. He’s not trying to escape,” argued Mr. Vera’s defense lawyer, Carlos Sanchez, in an interview with Ecuavisa television.

The arrest was announced as opposition MPs move to put President Lasso on trial for alleged embezzlement, a charge involving a contract for the public crude transport company, FLOPEC. The process cannot be ruled out leading to the suspension of the head of state.

Mr Lasso denies the charge. He objects that his government modified the disputed contract, which was signed years before he took office, for the benefit of the public.