MIAMI — A former senior Ecuadorean official who was convicted in his home country of extorting millions from Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht S.A. was arrested in Miami this week in a related federal money laundering case.
Carlos Polit Faggioni, who lives in a condo high-rise along the Miami River, was Ecuador’s longtime comptroller. Polit’s position, which was created to combat the fraudulent use of government funds, required him to sign off on public budgets that authorities say enabled him to demand $8 million in bribery payments from Odebrecht. The giant engineering firm is at the center of public corruption scandals extending from South America to the United States.
Polit, 72, was arrested Monday and charged in a money laundering conspiracy indictment during his first appearance in Miami federal court Tuesday. Polit is being held at the Federal Detention Center and has a pretrial bond hearing Friday.
