Ecuador convicts 15 people and five companies for laundering nearly 398 million dollars in drug proceeds

Ecuador convicts 15 people and five companies for laundering nearly 398 million dollars in drug proceeds

An Ecuadorian court has convicted 15 people and five companies for laundering nearly $398 million linked to international drug trafficking, the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced.

Fourteen of the defendants, including Roberto Carlos Álvarez Vera, an alleged ringleader known as “El Gerente,” were sentenced to 13 years in prison, while another received a 10-year term. The court also ordered the five companies dissolved and their assets confiscated.

Prosecutors said the network used shell companies and commercial fronts between 2015 and 2025 to wash illicit drug money through Ecuador’s financial system. Investigators traced suspicious cash and check deposits, international wire transfers, and bank loans, as well as purchases of real estate, vehicles, and livestock.

Several members of the ring had prior convictions in separate international drug trafficking and organized crime cases.