Ecuadorean judge recuses himself from Chevron case
04 Sep 2009 22:34:50 GMT Source: Reuters
* Judge Nunez denies misconduct, bribery accusations * Judge says recuses himself so investigation can proceed * Chevron says still wants investigation (Adds Chevron comments, statement from Amazon Defense Coalition) By Alexandra Valencia QUITO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - An Ecuadorean judge presiding over a $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron Corp <CVX.N> recused himself from the case on Friday, days after the oil company accused him of misconduct and involvement in a bribery scheme. "I decided to remove myself from this case so authorities can continue with their work," Judge Juan Nunez told Reuters by telephone. "My conscience is clean. I have committed no wrong-doing. It is important that this is investigated." Ecuador's Attorney General Washington Pesantez began investigating the accusations against Nunez this week after Chevron gave Ecuadorean and U.S. authorities a secretly recorded video of Nunez talking of ruling against Chevron later this year. The U.S. company said at the time that it would ask for Nunez to be disqualified from the case. Pesantez warned Chevron on Friday against any attempts to undermine the legal process. He said a probe would determine the veracity of the video, and that he planned to call those involved to testify. "Chevron is using the video to delegitimize the process being brought against it and create the pretext for not paying large damages in case they are found guilty," Pesantez said at a press conference. After Nunez recused himself, Chevron called for all of his rulings in the case to be annulled. "We also hope that the removal of Judge Nunez is not an attempt to deflect attention from the serious indications of political interference with the case that appear in the video recordings," Chevron said in its statement. "An independent and honest investigation of the evidence that Chevron brought forward remains just as important following Judge Nunez's removal." The 16-year-old case against Chevron is registered in the Ecuadorean oil town of Lago Agrio, where indigenous communities have accused Texaco, which was bought by Chevron in 2001, of damaging the environment and their health while operating petroleum facilities in the region. An expert appointed by the Ecuadorean court said last year that Chevron should pay around $27 billion, including more than $8 billion in unjust enrichment. MYSTERIOUS VIDEO TRIGGERS PROBES Chevron said on Monday the video, posted at TexacoEcuador YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/texacoecuador, shows a man at another meeting identifying himself as a representative of Ecuador's ruling party and discussing a $3 million bribe for contracts, of which Nunez would get a third. The plaintiffs, represented by U.S.-based lawyer Steven Donziger, have accused Texaco of dumping billions of gallons of polluted water in the jungle around where they live for more than two decades before the company left Ecuador in the early 1990s. The Amazon Defense Coalition, a plaintiffs' group, said on Friday that Nunez's decision to recuse himself "clears the path for the legal proceedings to continue uninterrupted." But, the group said, "The recusal does not change the overwhelming evidence against Chevron in the underlying case." Last Monday, Chevron said two meetings with Nunez and two meetings with purported party representative Patricio Garcia had been recorded by both Diego Borja, a local logistics contractor who has worked for Chevron, and American Wayne Hansen, who has no relationship with the company. Chevron said the meetings were recorded without its knowledge, through small cameras in a watch owned by Borja and a pen held by Hansen. The company said Borja brought the bribery scheme to its attention in June. Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson said on Monday that the two men had not explained why they recorded the meetings. Pablo Fajardo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said this week in a statement from the Amazon Defense Coalition that the timing of the release of the videos, months after Chevron said it had learned of them, appeared related to the impending judgment by Nunez. "That's just one reason why this appears suspicious," Fajardo said. Chevron said neither man was paid, though the San Ramon, California-based company said it had assisted Borja with the costs of relocating out of Ecuador and other support because he and Chevron feared for his safety and that of his family. The company said that for security reasons it would not divulge Borja's whereabouts. The Amazon Defense Coalition said in a statement on Tuesday that Borja had worked for Chevron on the environmental trial during the final eight field inspections conducted in March, and that one of is cousins works for Chevron. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Ecuadorean public prosecutor Washington Pesantes addresses the media during a news conference in Quito, July 8, 2009. Pesantes complained against the International Police for negligence in the case of former Defense ...
