Ecuador has begun a “Special Examination” of Julian Assange’s asylum and citizenship as it looks to the IMF for a bailout, the whistleblowing site reports, with conditions including handing over the WikiLeaks founder.

Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa tweeted an image of the letter he received from the State Comptroller General on December 19, which outlines the upcoming examination by the Direction National de Auditoria.

La última de Contraloría:“Examen especial” al otorgamiento de asilo a Julian Assange.Eso es tan “procedente” como hacer un examen especial al nombramiento de un ministro.Ya que gobierne nomás Celi, el contralor impostor.Por su odio y persecución, somos el hazmerreír del mundo pic.twitter.com/ipOMaqFIB5 — Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) January 2, 2019

The audit will “determine whether the procedures for granting asylum and naturalization to Julian Assange were carried out in accordance with national and international law,” and will cover the period between January 1, 2012 and September 20, 2018.

Assange has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since he sought asylum there in 2012. He was granted Ecuadorian citizenship last December in a bid to protect him from being extradited to the US where he fears he faces secret charges for publishing US government cables and documents.

READ MORE: US ‘secretly charged’ Assange, prosecutor accidentally reveals – WikiLeaks

“Because of their hatred and persecution, we are the laughingstock of the world,” Correa said of the audit.

Ecuador has initiated a formal "Special Examination" of Julian Assange's asylum and nationality (nationals cannot be extradited) as it seeks a $10billion+ IMF bailout for which the US government demanded handing over Assange and dropping environmental claims against Chevron. https://t.co/utZe5Wjer4 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 2, 2019

WikiLeaks tweeted the news on Wednesday, joining the dots between the audit and Ecuador’s consideration of an International Monetary Fund bailout. The country owes China more than $6.5 billion in debt and falling oil prices have affected its repayment abilities.

According to WikiLeaks, Ecuador is considering a $10 billion bailout which would allegedly come with conditions such as “the US government demanded handing over Assange and dropping environmental claims against Chevron,” for its role in polluting the Amazon rainforest.

A journalist won an appeal revealing the existence of communications, between UK & US authorities, about WikiLeaks editors. https://t.co/Ntok88jNmx — RT UK (@RTUKnews) December 19, 2018

Assange’s position has increasingly been under threat under Correa’s successor, President Lenin Moreno, with Ecuadorian authorities restricting his internet access and visitors.

“I believe they are going to turn over Assange to the US government,” Correa told RT in October.

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