In Quito on January 31, an Ecuadorean anti-corruption court issued prison sentences to eight individuals and imposed sanctions on three companies involved in a money laundering operation connected to the Albanian mafia, as announced by the prosecutor's office in the Andean country.
The convicted individuals were part of a network that trafficked drugs from Ecuador to Europe, using registered businesses to launder assets totaling $43.4 million, stated the prosecutor's office.
The eight offenders were each given prison terms exceeding 17 years, with four of them additionally convicted of organized crime offenses related to the Albanian mafia. In Spain, other suspects linked to the case are facing separate legal proceedings.
Ecuadorean investigators found that an Albanian national, identified as Dritan G, orchestrated the criminal operation along with an Argentine businessman and an Ecuadorean. The group was charged with establishing multiple companies to conceal funds and illegal assets associated with drug trafficking.
Although the main orchestrator of the criminal network remains at large, the convicted individuals are believed to have played complicit roles in the illicit activity.
The prosecution sought prison sentences ranging from 10 to 13 years for the eight defendants and the dissolution of the three companies involved, alongside the confiscation of their assets.