Ecuador’s former President Lenín Moreno has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of bribery in a corruption case linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric power plant.
Moreno, 73, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has also been permanently banned from holding public office.
The case involves the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. Prosecutors alleged that Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro paid about $76.1 million in bribes between 2009 and 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.
Authorities said Moreno, members of his family and business associates were part of a corruption network through which money was allegedly transferred using overseas bank accounts and shell companies in tax havens.
Prosecutors said 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, saying he had no involvement in signing or supervising contracts for the project. During the trial, he argued that investigators should focus on the officials who signed the contracts and allegedly demanded kickbacks.
Moreno’s wife and daughter, as well as 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 Ecuador, was also sentenced to five years.
The Coca Codo Sinclair plant began operating in 2016 but has faced technical problems since then.
Moreno returned to Ecuador from Paraguay to face the trial.
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