US court sentences ex-Vitol trader to 4 years over $1M+ in bribes to Petroecuador officials to win a $300 million fuel contract under the Correa government
Subject of this story
What happened
A federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced Javier Aguilar, a former Vitol Group oil-trading operator, to four years in prison, $7.13 million in forfeiture and a $100,000 fine on September 21, 2026, after his conviction for bribing officials at Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador to secure a roughly $300 million fuel-oil supply contract signed in 2016. Court evidence showed Aguilar funneled over $1 million in bribes through intermediary Antonio Peré Ycaza to Petroecuador's international commerce manager, Nilsen Arias, using Oman Trading International to bypass restrictions on direct dealings with Vitol.
By the numbers (2)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Figures
1 source
- El Universo
sobornos que superaron el millon de dolares para funcionarios ecuatorianos, incluido Nilsen Arias, gerente de comercio internacional de Petroecuador.
1 source
- El Universo
Javier Aguilar fue condenado a 4 anos de carcel
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