Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of receiving bribes related to the construction of the country’s Coca Codo Sinclair hydropower plant, the court said.
Ecuador’s National Court of Justice said Friday, August 28. Moreno, 73, was convicted as a direct participant in a bribery conspiracy tied to the awarding of the about $2 billion hydroelectric project to Chinese state-owned business Sinohydro.
Moreno was president of Ecuador from 2017 to 2021, although the corruption prosecution is linked to acts mostly from his earlier time as vice president under former President Rafael Correa, when prosecutors say the bribery network was operating.
Prosecutors said about $76.1 million in bribes were paid through fake consulting contracts related to the Coca Codo Sinclair project between 2009 and 2018.
Investigators say the money went through overseas accounts and organisations and that more than $1 million ended up in the hands of Moreno and members of his family during his tenure as vice president from 2007 to 2013.
Sinohydro built the Coca Codo Sinclair hydro plant which came online in 2016. The project has since been criticised for structural and technical difficulties.
Moreno has always refuted the accusations. “I didn’t sign the contracts, I didn’t supervise the contracts,” he said the court, accusing prosecutors of going after the wrong person.
Moreno is to be sentenced to five years in prison, but because of a medical handicap that prohibits him from walking, he will serve the time under house arrest.
The court also banned him from public service in Ecuador for good.
Moreno wasn’t the only person convicted. His wife, daughter, two brothers, and other acquaintances were all convicted of involvement in the corruption plot. His wife and daughter were both given 30-month prison terms, and other offenders received punishments of different lengths.
Reuters said Cai Runguo, a former Chinese ambassador to Ecuador, was also sentenced to five years in prison.
Moreno is the third former Ecuadorean president to be convicted of corruption, following Rafael Correa and Jamil Mahuad.
Moreno, who had been living abroad, returned from Paraguay to face the procedures in Ecuador.
About the Author
