An Ecuadorian court has sentenced Ex President Moreno to five years in prison on Friday for accepting bribes from a Chinese state enterprise that constructed the country’s largest hydroelectric project.
Moreno, who governed Ecuador from 2017 to 2021, was among 20 individuals convicted in connection with the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair dam by China’s Sinohydro, according to prosecutorial updates posted on X.
The alleged bribery occurred between 2007 and 2013 while Moreno was serving as vice president under socialist leader Rafael Correa.
Although Moreno assumed the presidency with Correa’s backing, their political alliance subsequently fell apart as Moreno shifted his policy platform to the right and forged closer diplomatic ties with the United States.
Former President LenÃn Moreno has already declared his intention to appeal the court’s verdict, which also handed down sentences of over three years to his wife and other relatives for their involvement in the bribery scheme.
Prosecutors had originally sought a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Moreno.
Following the ruling, the 73-year-old former UN Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility, who uses a wheelchair, reiterated on Friday that he had never received “a single cent” from Sinohydro.
He characterized the prosecution as political retaliation driven by “the Correa regime,” alleging that his former mentor turned rival—who currently resides in Belgium to avoid his own corruption conviction—had “promised to take revenge on me.”
According to the prosecution, Sinohydro disbursed $76 million in bribes, representing approximately 4 percent of the hydroelectric dam’s total construction cost.
Along with Moreno, those convicted in the case included two former managers of the power plant project.
Backstory…
The conviction of former Ecuadorian President LenÃn Moreno comes from a long-running corruption investigation surrounding the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric facility.
Prosecutors alleged that a corruption network linked to Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro paid about $76.1 million in bribes through fraudulent consulting contracts between 2009 and 2018.
Moreno was accused of receiving more than $1 million alongside members of his family while he was serving as vice president under Rafael Correa.
Read Also: US Slaps 12.5% Tariff on Nigerian Imports, UK, Others Over Forced Labour Claims
