Carlos Pólit served as Comptroller General of Ecuador for a decade, from 2007 to 2017. Today, he is the Ecuadorian who received the harshest sentence in the Odebrecht case. A federal court in Miami sentenced him to ten years in prison in October 2024 for laundering the bribes he received in exchange for shelving audits. Previously, Ecuador had sentenced him in absentia to six years and ordered him to repay $40.4 million, which he never did. His son John is also in prison for aiding him. As of October 8, 2026, at age 75, Pólit is requesting release from prison on health grounds. This article chronologically outlines the two convictions and what remains pending. A side-by-side analysis can be found in Pólit’s case file on Auditoría Abierta.
The short answer: Carlos Pólit has been convicted in two countries and is imprisoned in one. A Miami jury found him guilty in April 2024 on six counts of money laundering. Judge Kathleen Williams sentenced him to ten years on October 1, 2024. In Ecuador, the National Court of Justice sentenced him in 2018 to six years in absentia for extortion and ordered him to pay US$40.4 million, which he has not repaid. The U.S. court also forfeited US$16.5 million in assets. His son John is serving a 40-month sentence. On September 10, 2026, Pólit requested compassionate release on health grounds. No decision has been made.
Who Is Carlos Pólit and Why His Case Matters in October 2026
Pólit served as comptroller for most of Rafael Correa’s administration. His office audited public works projects and had the authority to impose penalties—that is, fines and liabilities—on contractors. According to U.S. authorities, he used that power as leverage. He charged Odebrecht to waive fines and launched audits against a state-owned insurance company to force it to return contracts to a businessman who was paying him.
His case matters for three reasons. It is the harshest sentence handed down in the Odebrecht case in Ecuador. He is one of the few in the region to have been tried by a U.S. jury, with 14 witnesses and bank records as evidence. And it shows what happens when the country of origin fails to secure extradition: Ecuador has been requesting it for eight years, and his own sentence has never been served. To compare with a former president who was indeed tried in his own country after being extradited from the United States, Bajo Lupa publishes the case file of Alejandro Toledo.
Timeline of the Pólit case, decision by decision
| Date | Court | Decision | Level of Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2016 | Odebrecht and Pólit | Bribes of up to $12 million in exchange for waiving penalties and fines | Proven at the Miami trial |
| December 2015 | Diego Sánchez, Global Reinsurance Broker | Payment of US$510,000 to Pólit through a Florida company | Proven at the Miami trial |
| 2017 | Pólit | Travels to the United States before the evidence is presented; does not return | Proven |
| 2018 | National Court of Justice of Ecuador | Sentenced in absentia to 6 years for extortion; ordered to pay US$40.4 million in restitution | Final, never served |
| 2018 | Ecuador | Extradition requested to the United States | Pending, with no result |
| June 6, 2022 | Ecuadorian court | Grants five days to pay compensation; the Attorney General’s Office announces forced enforcement | Proven |
| April 2024 | Jury in the Southern District of Florida | Found guilty on six counts of money laundering | Verdict |
| October 1, 2024 | Judge Kathleen Williams | 120 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and forfeiture of $16.5 million | Sentence; appeal announced |
| 2025 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida | Denies the defense’s request for a reduced sentence | Final |
| October 2025 | Attorney General’s Office of Ecuador | Seizes his assets in Ecuador for nonpayment | Proven |
| November 19, 2025 | Southern District of Florida | John Pólit, 40 months for conspiracy to launder money | Sentence |
| September 10, 2026 | Pólit, without an attorney | Requests compassionate release due to health issues | Pending |
2018: The Sentence in Ecuador That Was Never Served
In 2018, a panel of the National Court of Justice sentenced Pólit to six years in prison for extortion as part of the Odebrecht scandal, according to Infobae. The sentence was handed down in absentia. Pólit had traveled to the United States in 2017, shortly before the evidence came to light, and did not return. The courts upheld the sentence and rejected his defense’s appeals.
The court also ordered him to pay full restitution of US$40.4 million to the state, according to El Universo. On June 6, 2022, the court gave him five days to pay the amount, according to El Oriente. In October 2025, the Attorney General’s Office seized his assets in Ecuador due to nonpayment, according to Primicias. The extradition request has been pending since 2018, with no result.
2024: The Miami Trial and the Ten-Year Mark
In April 2024, a twelve-person jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida found him guilty on six counts, according to Infobae. The charges included conspiracy to launder money, money laundering, and transactions involving property derived from criminal activities. According to the Department of Justice, between 2010 and 2016, Pólit solicited and received bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for waiving or not imposing fines in Ecuador.
Fourteen witnesses testified. José Conceição Santos, Odebrecht’s former representative in Ecuador, confirmed that he had given Pólit bribes totaling up to $12 million, according to Diario La Hora. Businessman Diego Sánchez confirmed a bribe of US$510,000. On October 1, 2024, Judge Kathleen Williams sentenced him to 120 months in prison plus three years of supervised release, according to CNN. The prosecution had sought 235 months, and the defense had sought six years. In addition, the judge ordered the forfeiture of US$16.5 million in family assets. Among them was an office building on Coral Way purchased for US$2.6 million in the name of a third party, according to Expreso.
The Bribe Unrelated to Odebrecht: Seguros Sucre
The U.S. conviction includes a bribe that did not come from Odebrecht. According to prosecutors, the president of Seguros Sucre, Juan Ribas Domenech, suspended the reinsurance contracts of Diego Sánchez Silva of Global Reinsurance Broker. Pólit then launched several audits against the state-owned insurer. The audits ceased when the contracts were reinstated. Sánchez paid him $510,000 in December 2015 through a Florida-based company, according to El Universo and Primicias. Ribas was sentenced in the United States to 51 months for money laundering related to reinsurance. Sánchez testified under a cooperation agreement.
2025: John Pólit’s Conviction
John Christopher Pólit Estévez, a former banker, pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to launder money, according to El Universo. According to the Department of Justice, he laundered the proceeds of bribes for his father’s benefit through the U.S. financial system and investments in South Florida. On November 19, 2025, he was sentenced to 40 months in prison, according to Extra and El Diario. He was scheduled to report to prison on January 7, 2026. In Ecuador, a court had sentenced him in absentia to three years as an accomplice, with no practical consequences.
2026: The Request for Release from Prison
Following the sentencing, the defense requested a reduction of the 120-month sentence based on a change in the federal sentencing guidelines. The court rejected the request, according to El Universo. On September 10, 2026, Pólit filed a request for compassionate release on his own, without a lawyer, with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to Vistazo. He cites functional, physical, and cognitive decline due to his age of 75. He also cites a wrist fracture from a fall in prison in April 2026, sinus bradycardia, and lumbar disc narrowing. He requests to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest at his daughter’s apartment in Brickell Key, Miami. He had previously requested release from the prison warden on July 20, 2026, but received no response. He is incarcerated at FCI Miami Low. As of October 8, 2026, the status of the request remains unknown.
What Emerged at Trial but Has Not Been Prosecuted
Some testimony from the Miami trial mentioned other alleged payments. Juan Ribas testified that in late 2016, Pólit asked him to channel the reinsurance for the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant through the intermediary IHG. “To my understanding, it was a bribe,” he said, according to Plan V. Primicias listed approximately US$400,000 linked to IHG and 109,800 euros from the company Albacora. The sources consulted do not indicate that the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office has opened formal proceedings regarding these events. They are cited as background information, not as proven facts.
What Pólit Says and What His Accusers Say
Pólit pleaded not guilty in Miami, and his defense team announced it would appeal the verdict and sentence. In his 2026 petition, he does not dispute the facts; he is requesting release on health grounds. His accusers—the U.S. Department of Justice and Ecuador’s National Court of Justice—agree on the merits of the case. He used the Comptroller’s Office as a tool to pressure people into paying bribes and laundered that money in Florida.
How to interpret this case
Three key points. First: both convictions are valid, but only the U.S. sentence is being served. The Ecuadorian sentence was never enforced because Pólit did not return to the country. Second: the $40.4 million debt remains unpaid despite the 2025 seizure order. Third: the testimonies regarding Coca Codo Sinclair, IHG, and Albacora have not been subject to legal proceedings and should not be considered proven facts. To compare with another case where foreign justice preceded domestic justice, Bajo Lupa publishes the case of Juan Carlos Varela, sanctioned by the United States and prosecuted in Panama.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many years in prison did Carlos Pólit receive?
Ten years in the United States for conspiracy to launder money and money laundering, imposed by Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on October 1, 2024, plus three years of supervised release. In Ecuador, he also has a six-year sentence for extortion, handed down in absentia in 2018, which he has never served.
Why was he convicted in the United States?
Because he laundered bribes from Odebrecht—totaling up to $12 million—through the U.S. financial system, which he received in exchange for waiving fines imposed by the Comptroller’s Office. He also laundered a $510,000 bribe from insurance executive Diego Sánchez. A jury found him guilty on six counts in April 2024.
Is Carlos Pólit in prison?
Yes. He is serving his sentence at the FCI Miami Low federal prison in Florida. On September 10, 2026, he requested compassionate release to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest due to health issues at age 75. As of October 8, 2026, no decision had been made on the request.
How much money does Pólit owe Ecuador?
US$40.4 million in full restitution, as set in the 2018 ruling. He has not paid this amount. In October 2025, the Attorney General’s Office seized his assets in Ecuador in an attempt to collect the debt.
What happened to John Pólit?
He pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to launder money and was sentenced on November 19, 2025, to 40 months in prison. According to the Department of Justice, he laundered the proceeds of his father’s bribes through investments in South Florida.
What assets were seized from him?
The Miami judge ordered the forfeiture of $16.5 million in assets, including an office building on Coral Way purchased for $2.6 million in the name of a third party. One apartment was excluded because the jury found insufficient evidence that it was part of the money-laundering scheme.
Why has Ecuador been unable to extradite him?
The request has been pending since 2018 without result. Pólit was first tried and convicted in the United States, where he is serving his sentence. As long as he remains imprisoned there, the extradition process cannot move forward.
What was the Seguros Sucre bribery case?
A payment of US$510,000 that businessman Diego Sánchez made to Pólit in December 2015. According to U.S. prosecutors, Pólit initiated audits against the state-owned insurance company Seguros Sucre to pressure it into reinstating Sánchez’s reinsurance contracts. The audits ceased once the contracts were reinstated.
Sources consulted
- Infobae: Details of the U.S. conviction of former Ecuadorian Comptroller Carlos Pólit (October 2, 2024)
- Infobae: Former Ecuadorian Comptroller General Carlos Pólit Found Guilty of Money Laundering in the United States (April 23, 2024)
- U.S. Department of Justice: Former Comptroller General of Ecuador Sentenced in International Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme (October 2024)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of Florida: Former Banker Pleads Guilty in $16M International Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme
- La Hora Newspaper: U.S. Court Sentences Carlos Pólit to Prison for Conspiracy and Money Laundering (2024)
- CNN en Español: Former Ecuadorian Comptroller Carlos Pólit Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Miami (October 1, 2024)
- El Universo: U.S. Court Denies Carlos Pólit’s Request for a Reduced Prison Sentence (2025)
- El Universo: John Pólit’s Sentence in the U.S. Could Pave the Way for New Investigations into the Odebrecht Scandal in Ecuador (2025)
- Extra: John Pólit, son of Carlos Pólit, sentenced in the U.S.—how many years will he serve? (November 2025)
- Expreso: One of Carlos Pólit’s properties in Miami was also seized (2024)
- Primicias: Attorney General’s Office Seizes Assets of Former Comptroller Carlos Pólit (October 2025)
- El Oriente: Court gives Carlos Pólit 5 days to pay millions in damages (June 6, 2022)
- Vistazo: Carlos Pólit requests to serve the remainder of his 10-year sentence at home in the United States (September 11, 2026)
- Extra: Carlos Pólit requests compassionate release due to a fracture and medical diagnoses while in prison (September 2026)
- El Universo: Carlos Pólit Allegedly Pressured Seguros Sucre with Audits to Steer Contracts, According to U.S. Prosecutors (2024)
- Exclusive: Pólit Used Audits as Blackmail, Says U.S. Attorney’s Office (2024)
- Plan V: Trial of Carlos Pólit, Day 9: An Alleged New Bribe (2024)
- Exclusive: Revelations from the Carlos Pólit trial could trigger investigations in Ecuador (2024)
This article compiles documented facts and allegations attributed to their authors. The mention of an allegation does not imply its veracity, and the position of the person mentioned is stated in each case. Bajo Lupa offers Carlos Pólit the opportunity to respond and will update the text as new information becomes available. Information verified as of October 8, 2026.
Investigative Journalist and Case File Analyst
Guzmán Fajardo Báez is an investigative journalist specializing in the scrutiny of judicial proceedings, the coverage of regulatory frameworks, and the analysis of the administration of justice in Guatemala and Latin America. His career is distinguished by a firm commitment to institutional oversight, examining legal case files, court rulings, and public records to accurately document the exercise of power.
At Bajo Lupa, he is part of the investigative team tasked with untangling legal controversies and high-impact political cases. His journalistic approach prioritizes analytical sobriety, rigorous respect for due process, and the exhaustive cross-referencing of primary sources, providing citizens with a documented perspective free from partisan biases.