Lenín Moreno, Ecuador’s former president, has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of accepting bribes tied to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric project.
The 73-year-old was convicted over a corruption scheme involving the Coca Codo Sinclair plant, a roughly $2 billion project built by Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro.
Moreno, who cannot walk because of a physical disability, attended Friday’s verdict hearing and will serve his sentence under house arrest.
Judge Manuel Cabrera said evidence showed Moreno was involved in bribery while serving as vice president under Rafael Correa.
“Lenin Moreno’s conduct is consistent with the charges brought by the prosecution: the crime of bribery attributed to a public official,” Cabrera said.
Prosecutors said Sinohydro paid about $76.1 million in illegal commissions between 2009 and 2018 through fake consulting contracts. They alleged Moreno and relatives received over $1 million while he was vice president from 2007 to 2013.
Moreno denied the allegations, saying, “You’re looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contracts, at those who had the habit of demanding kickbacks,”
His wife, daughter, two brothers and their wives were sentenced to two and a half years as accomplices and ordered to repay three times the alleged illegal amount within 90 days.
Former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo also received five years.
The plant began operating in 2016 but has faced technical and structural problems.
Moreno’s conviction makes him the third former Ecuadorian president sentenced over corruption-related offences.
