A court in Ecuador found former president Lenín Moreno Garcés, 73, guilty of bribery and sentenced him to five years in prison, in addition to permanently disqualifying him from holding any public office, according to the country's prosecutor's office on Friday.
The ruling is part of the so-called Sinohydro case, linked to the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest in Ecuador, awarded to the Chinese state company Sinohydro.
The presiding judge Manuel Cabrera was explicit while reading the sentence: "The actions of Lenín Moreno Garcés align with the terms of the accusation made by the Prosecutor's Office, a crime of bribery attributed to the public servant as the direct author."
The court determined that Moreno, in his role as vice president under Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2013, carried out actions to ensure the awarding of the contract to Sinohydro, and that he and his family received over one million dollars in bribes during that period.
According to the investigation, Sinohydro allegedly paid bribes totaling 76.1 million dollars between 2009 and 2018, funneled through fraudulent consulting contracts and transferred to tax havens and shell companies connected to the former leader's family and business associates.
The sentence also reached several family members: Moreno's wife, daughter, two brothers, and a sister-in-law were declared accomplices and sentenced to two years and six months in prison. The former Chinese ambassador in Quito, Cai Runguo, also received a five-year sentence.
Given that Moreno has been using a wheelchair since 1998, when he suffered paraplegia after being shot during a robbery, the court acknowledged his vulnerable condition, which would allow him to serve his sentence under house arrest.
The former president, who had lived in Paraguay in recent years, returned to Ecuador to face trial and categorically denied the charges in front of the media.
"I have not received a single cent from Sinohydro, so please do not come telling me that I am being accused," he stated. "I have come to show my face as the man of honor that I am to prove my innocence and that of my family."
The prosecution had requested six years and six months in prison; the court imposed five. The sentence is a first-instance ruling, and Moreno's defense announced that they will appeal.
The case adds to a series of legal proceedings related to corruption in Ecuador connected to the Correa era. Rafael Correa himself was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in prison for bribery in the "Bribes 2012-2016" case, and former Vice President Jorge Glas also faced corruption convictions, reflecting a sustained process of judicial accountability in the Andean country.
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