Ecuador sentences ex-president Moreno to five years in jail in bribery case | Corruption News
Ecuadorian Court Sentences Former President Lenin Moreno to Prison for Bribery
Ecuadorian authorities have convicted former President Lenin Moreno of bribery related to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office on Friday. The 73-year-old Moreno was sentenced to five years in prison and is now permanently barred from holding any public office.
The investigation, initiated by the attorney general’s office in March 2023, implicated Moreno, his family, and several local and Chinese business associates in an alleged corruption scheme linked to the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. The facility began operations in 2016 but has faced ongoing technical difficulties since its launch.
Judge Manuel Cabrera, presiding over the tribunal, stated, “Lenin Moreno’s conduct is consistent with the charges brought by the prosecution: the crime of bribery attributed to a public official.” Prosecutors allege that the Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro paid approximately $76.1 million in bribes from 2009 to 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.
In addition to Moreno, his wife, daughter, and two brothers—along with their spouses—were found guilty and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Cai Runguo, a former Chinese ambassador to Quito, also received a five-year prison sentence.
Investigators contend that the bribes were funneled through overseas accounts and shell companies in tax havens before benefiting Moreno’s family and associates. Prosecutors claim that Moreno and his close relatives received over $1 million during his tenure as vice president from 2007 to 2013.
Moreno has denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he did not participate in the signing or oversight of the projects’ contracts. “You’re looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contracts, at those who had the habit of demanding kickbacks,” he said during the trial.
Moreno, who served as Ecuador’s president from 2017 to 2021, returned from Paraguay to confront the charges against him.
