The Tribunal of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador sentenced Jorge Glas, the former vice president, to 13 years in prison for embezzlement charges on Monday.

The judges, Mercedes Caicedo, Marco Rodríguez Ruiz and Javier de la Cadena, ruled in favor of the charges brought by the Prosecutor General’s Office against Jorge Glas for his alleged misuse of public funds intended for reconstruction after the earthquake of April 16, 2016. Carlos Bernal, former technical secretary of the Committee for Reconstruction and Productive Reactivation, was also sentenced as co-author of the crime of embezzlement. In total, both Glas and Bernal received a sentence of 13 years, a fine of 60 basic salaries, and a reparation of 250 million dollars for material and non-material damages.

The sentence also prevents Jorge Glas from taking office in the future. Both Glas and Bernal will be obliged to apologize during public broadcasting with the phrase, “Corruption is not just a crime, it is a betrayal of the people’s trust.”

Prosecutor General Wilson Toainga presented evidence to demonstrate that Glas and Bernal approved several projects through the funds of the Solidarity Law, which were not intended to aid citizens affected by the earthquake. Some projects were also completed with the involvement of Concrenor, a company whose owners are relatives of Carlos Bernal. Under Article 278 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code, these former public authorities received the maximum sentence of 13 years.

The earthquake of April 16, 2016, caused 663 deaths and left 6,274 wounded. The quake mainly hit the coastal province of Manabí, which still has not entirely recovered from the damage due to the misuse of public funds.

Jorge Glas is already detained at La Roca maximum security prison, over corruption charges in the 2017 Odebrecht scandal. Glas was imprisoned for corruption despite his request for asylum at the Mexican embassy in Ecuador. The forcible entry of Ecuadorian authorities in the Mexican embassy resulted in severed diplomatic relations between both countries and a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Despite legal challenge to his arrest, Glas remains detained. The conditions of his detention led to international criticism, with the UN urging investigations into alleged torture.

Being a case at first instance, both Glas and Bernal could file appeals against the sentence.