Case of the Power Outage in Ecuador: It has been revealed that the advance payments made to the company Progen were transferred to personal accounts.

The "Blackout Case," involving Progen, has become one of the most sensitive investigations stemming from the energy crisis that marked the second half of 2024. Documents presented in a federal court in Florida, and revealed by Ecuavisa, indicate that the money the Ecuadorian state transferred to the U.S. company Progen Industries to address the 2024 electricity crisis was diverted to personal accounts of executives and companies linked to the contractor. Meanwhile, Fabián Calero Freire, former acting manager of Celec, one of the defendants in the so-called "Blackout Case," claimed in a public letter that he is innocent and that the investigation aims to make him a "chosen scapegoat." The information is contained in the civil lawsuit filed by the Ecuadorian Electricity Corporation (Celec) in the United States against Progen and several of its executives, accusing them of fraud, misappropriation, and breach of contract for the Quevedo and El Salitral thermal power generation projects. According to bank records included in the case file and published by the Ecuadorian television station, the $110 million that Celec transferred as advance payments was dispersed in a matter of weeks. The disbursements identified include $1.1 million sent to personal accounts of John Manning, Progen's top executive; $1.4 million to Two Lions Holding, a company linked to the same group; approximately $20 million to Astrobryxa LLC, a company associated with Karla Saud Calero; $3.25 million to Inicofy, also known as FYI Group; and $330,000 to José David Trujillo, a former procurement official at Celec. The court documents also show that Progen's main account at Regions Bank had a balance of zero dollars as of January 30, 2026, which complicates the possibility of recovering the funds transferred by the Ecuadorian state. The contracts with Progen were signed in 2024, during the electricity emergency that led the country to experience blackouts of up to 14 hours per day. The goal was to incorporate 150 megawatts of power generation to reinforce the national system. However, the plants did not become operational, and Ecuador did not receive the promised energy. Technical reports cited in Celec's lawsuit state that several of the equipment delivered were used and had components manufactured between 2006 and 2014. Expert reports also reported traces of rust covered with paint and alleged alterations in the serial numbers of some generators. In Ecuador, the Attorney General's Office opened an investigation into alleged embezzlement and implicated 21 people, including former officials from the Ministry of Energy, Celec, and Progen. The hearing to formally charge the defendants was scheduled for May 14, 2026, at the National Court of Justice. In this context, Fabián Calero issued a two-page statement in which he rejected the accusations and claimed that he cooperated with the authorities. He stated that he remained silent for several months because he entered the national victim and witness protection system, within which he voluntarily provided technical documentation, chats, and audio recordings that, he said, identify the real perpetrators of the case. "It is unacceptable that, after providing relevant information, the Attorney General's Office makes an inexplicable turn by notifying me with a request to file charges, intending to turn me into the 'chosen scapegoat' to cover up political interests," he wrote. Calero stated that his role as acting manager of Celec was limited to the technical implementation of an emergency plan designed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. He affirmed that he did not sign any contracts with Progen and that his only involvement was delegating the contracting to the corresponding business units. Calero also denied any family relationship with Karla Saud Calero, one of the people associated with the companies that received part of the funds, and stated that the lack of kinship can be verified with information from the Civil Registry. In his statement, Calero said that his assets are "limited" and that his financial situation has deteriorated as a result of the investigation and layoffs that he attributes to the case. He agreed with former Minister Antonio Gonçalves that tracing the money will identify those who truly benefited from the contracts and proposed the creation of an oversight committee to review the financial information.