Former president sentenced to prison
An Ecuadorian court has sentenced former President Lenin Moreno to five years in prison after finding him guilty of receiving bribes linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric power project.
Moreno, who led Ecuador from 2017 to 2021, was among 20 people convicted in a corruption case involving the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric dam, which was built by Chinese construction company Sinohydro.
The case centres on alleged illegal payments connected to the multibillion-dollar project.
Prosecutors told the court that Sinohydro paid about $76 million in bribes, an amount estimated to be around four per cent of the total cost of the dam.
Moreno was vice-president under former President Rafael Correa between 2007 and 2013, when the alleged corruption took place.
He later succeeded Correa as president with his support.
However, the relationship between the two men deteriorated after Moreno moved away from Correa’s left-wing political position.
He adopted policies that were more closely aligned with the political right and strengthened Ecuador’s relationship with the United States.
The court also handed prison sentences of nearly three years to Moreno’s wife and some of his relatives after finding them guilty of involvement in the case.
Prosecutors had asked the court to impose a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence on the former president.
Moreno, who is 73 and uses a wheelchair, has rejected the allegations and plans to appeal the judgment.
He previously served as the United Nations special envoy on disability and has maintained that he did not receive any money from Sinohydro.
Following the ruling, Moreno blamed the case on the administration of Correa, his former political ally who later became his rival.
Correa himself has been convicted in a separate corruption case and currently lives in Belgium.
The Coca Codo Sinclair project has been at the centre of several corruption investigations over alleged payments made to officials and individuals connected to Ecuador’s political leadership.
Two former managers of the hydroelectric facility were also among those convicted in the latest case.
The ruling adds to the legal troubles surrounding senior officials who were involved in Ecuador’s political and infrastructure projects during the period when the dam was being developed.
Moreno has now indicated that he will challenge the decision through the country’s legal system.
