Ecuador VP jailed in Odebrecht probe

Ecuador's supreme court ordered the imprisonment of vice president Jorge Glas (pictured) while he is investigated for allegedly taking bribes from disgraced Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

The order, issued following a petition from prosecutors, also froze Glas' bank accounts, according to local newspaper El Universo.

Attorney general Carlos Baca said in a press release that the investigation had uncovered new crimes that could be added to the process, including money laundering and tax fraud.

Glas is the highest-ranking acting official in Latin America to be detained in the ongoing probes into the dealings of Odebrecht, which has admitted to have paid up to US$33mn in bribes to public officials in Ecuador.

Odebrecht has been involved in some of Ecuador's largest infrastructure projects, including power plants, highways, gas pipelines and the Quito metro.

After the ruling became known, Glas said on his Twitter account that he would turn himself in. He also called the investigation against him a "lynching" and said he would turn to international courts to defend himself if necessary.

Glas' uncle, Ricardo Rivera, was also detained. In this case the judge asked for him to be moved from house arrest to a hospital, due to his advanced age.