An Ecuadorian court on December 12 sentenced former President Lenin Moreno to five years in prison for bribery in a case related to the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest in the South American nation. Moreno, 73, was also permanently barred from holding any public office in the future.
According to the ruling by Judge Manuel Cabrera, head of the trial panel, Moreno's actions matched the prosecutor's office's charges of bribery by a public official. The prosecutor's office said Chinese company Sinohydro paid about $76.1 million in bribes from 2009 to 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.
Moreno's wife and daughter, along with two of his brothers and their wives, were also convicted and sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. China's former ambassador to Ecuador, Cai Runguo, also received a five-year prison sentence in the case.
Investigators said the money was transferred through foreign accounts and shell companies in tax havens before reaching Moreno's family and associates. Prosecutors alleged Moreno and his relatives received more than $1 million during his tenure as vice president from 2007 to 2013.
Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting he had no involvement in signing or overseeing the project's contracts. At the trial, he said: "You're looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contracts, those with a habit of demanding bribes."
The prosecutor's office opened the investigation in March 2023, involving Moreno, his relatives, and local and Chinese business partners in a corruption network linked to the Coca Codo Sinclair plant. The plant began operations in 2016 and has experienced multiple technical issues since then.
