Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno has been sentenced to five years in prison after a court found him guilty of bribery in a corruption case linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, Coca Codo Sinclair.
The ruling was delivered on Friday by Ecuador’s National Court of Justice. Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, was convicted as a direct participant in the bribery scheme and was also permanently barred from holding public office.
The case centres on the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project, which was built by Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro and began operating in 2016. Prosecutors alleged that Sinohydro paid approximately $76.1 million in bribes between 2009 and 2018 through fraudulent consulting and other contracts linked to the project.
According to prosecutors, Moreno and members of his family received more than $1 million from the alleged scheme while Moreno was serving as Ecuador’s vice-president between 2007 and 2013. Investigators said the money was channelled through overseas bank accounts, companies and intermediaries.
Moreno, 73, has consistently denied the allegations. During the proceedings, he maintained that he did not sign or oversee the contracts for the hydroelectric project and rejected claims that he received money from Sinohydro.
The court also convicted 19 other people in the case, including Moreno’s wife, daughter, brothers and other individuals linked to the alleged scheme. Several received prison sentences ranging from 18 months to five years.
Because of Moreno’s physical disability, reports said he will serve the sentence under house arrest, rather than in a conventional prison. The ruling is a first-instance judgment and remains subject to the appeals process.
The Coca Codo Sinclair project, which cost about $2 billion, has also faced technical problems since becoming operational.
