Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has been found guilty of bribery in a corruption case linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric power plant.
The public prosecutor’s office announced the verdict on Friday, August 28, saying Moreno, 73, was sentenced to five years in prison and permanently barred from holding public office.
The case stems from an investigation launched by Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office in March 2023 into alleged corruption surrounding the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project.
Prosecutors accused Moreno, members of his family, and Ecuadorian and Chinese business associates of being part of a corruption network linked to the project, which began operations in 2016 but has faced several technical problems.
Delivering the ruling, Judge Manuel Cabrera, head of the tribunal, said Moreno’s actions were consistent with the prosecution’s allegations of bribery involving a public official.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro allegedly paid about $76.1 million in bribes between 2009 and 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.
Moreno’s wife and daughter, along with his two brothers and their wives, were also convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Cai Runguo, China’s former ambassador to Quito, was handed a five-year sentence.
Investigators alleged that the illicit funds were transferred through overseas bank accounts and shell companies in tax havens before being distributed to Moreno’s family members and other associates.
Prosecutors further alleged that Moreno and close relatives received more than $1 million while he was serving as Ecuador’s vice president between 2007 and 2013.
Moreno has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that he had no involvement in signing or supervising the contracts for the hydroelectric project.
“You’re looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contracts, at those who had the habit of demanding kickbacks,” Moreno told the court during the proceedings.
Moreno served as Ecuador’s president from 2017 to 2021. He returned to the country from Paraguay to face trial in the corruption case.
