Ecuador bank head resigns over fake degree
The president of Ecuador's Central Bank has resigned after admitting he presented a fake academic degree more than 20 years ago.
President Correa, who is a cousin of Pedro Delgado, called it a 'very hard day' in a message on his Twitter account Photo: AFP
9:56PM GMT 20 Dec 2012
Pedro Delgado, who is a cousin of President Rafael Correa, apologised to the nation, the government and his family on Wednesday at a news conference.
"With honesty, I should acknowledge that I made a very serious mistake 22 years ago," Mr Delgado said. "I made a wrong decision to achieve my academic objective."
He acknowledged that he had given a Costa Rican business school "a document with no value (showing) a degree I didn't hold."
"I kept this act secret. I offer an apology to my wife, children, the Ecuadorean people, the government ... and above all to President Rafael Correa," Mr Delgado said.
Mr Correa called it a "very hard day" in a message on his Twitter account.
"We've verified that Pedro Delgado had presented a false degree," Mr Correa said in the message, adding that it "has done serious damage to the revolution."
The scandal erupted after an investigation by opposition politician Enrique Herreria into Delgado's academic record at the Catholic University of Ecuador and the prestigious INCAE Business School in Costa Rica.
Mr Herreria said on Thursday that Delgado had left the country, possibly for the United States. Some Ecuadorean media also reported that Delgado had left the country, though the government did not immediately confirm it.
Delgado was appointed in November 2011. During his tenure, Delgado also faced questions from government critics about an $800,000 loan granted to an Argentine without going through proper procedures, and about his purchase of a house in Miami with a loan.
