Bribery leads former Ecuadorian president to prison, and his disability prevents him from entering
An Ecuadorian court sentenced former President Lenín Moreno to five years in prison after convicting him of participating in a scheme to receive a bribe from a Chinese company in exchange for facilitating its acquisition of a contract to build the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, one of the country’s largest energy projects.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that Moreno was among 20 individuals convicted in the case, which relates to events occurring between 2008 and 2018. It noted that the Chinese company Sinohydro paid bribes totaling approximately $76 million, equivalent to nearly 4 percent of the project’s value.
Moreno’s connection to the case dates back to his tenure as Vice President under Rafael Correa, between 2007 and 2013, during which the alleged corrupt practices under investigation began. He later became a candidate for the Correista movement, backed by Correa, and won the presidency in 2017. He subsequently broke with his former ally, shifted politically to the right, and strengthened ties with the United States.
Despite his conviction, Moreno denied receiving any money from the Chinese company. Following the verdict, he stated he had not received “a single cent” from them, blaming what he described as the “Correa system” for the case and accusing the former president of seeking revenge, claiming that Correa had “promised to take revenge on me.”
The prosecution had sought a sentence of six and a half years for Moreno, but the court imposed a five-year term. Due to his physical disability, which prevents him from walking because of paraplegia, the former president will serve his sentence under house arrest, according to The Associated Press.
The rulings were not limited to Moreno; the court convicted his wife, daughter, two brothers, and brother-in-law as accomplices in the scheme. His wife and daughter each received sentences of 30 months in prison. The court also ordered all convicted individuals to repay three times the amount of money they illicitly obtained within 90 days.
Meanwhile, the Chinese company Sinohydro began construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair plant in 2010 at a cost of nearly $2 billion, before handing the project over to the Ecuadorian government in 2016. However, since its commissioning, the project has faced criticism due to structural defects and problems.
The verdict marks a new milestone in a series of corruption cases involving former Ecuadorian presidents, making Moreno the third former president convicted in a corruption case, although the acts for which he was tried occurred before he assumed the presidency.
Rafael Correa was previously sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 in a bribery case linked to the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, but he has been living in Belgium for several years.
Former President Jamil Mahuad was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2014 for abuse of public funds, while former President Abdalá Bucaram awaits sentencing after being convicted in a case related to organized crime.
Moreno, 73, served as Vice President under Correa before succeeding him as president in 2017, with Jorge Glas as his vice president. Glas later left office and is currently serving a prison sentence in corruption cases.
Before returning to the political arena and becoming one of the most prominent figures in Ecuadorian politics, Moreno also served as the United Nations Special Envoy on Disability Issues.
