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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Ecuador court considers former President Moreno’s request to suspend bribery sentence

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Ecuador’s National Court of Justice is considering Lenín Moreno’s request to suspend his five-year prison sentence for bribery linked to financing the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant.
  • Prosecutors oppose the request, arguing that the gravity of the corruption offense requires the sentence to be enforced.
  • Moreno, his wife, daughter and two brothers were convicted in the case, which prosecutors said involved about $76 million in bribes paid by Chinese state company Sinohydro.

Ecuador’s National Court of Justice is considering former President Lenín Moreno’s request to suspend execution of his five-year prison sentence for bribery.

The hearing opened in Quito on Monday, but the judges suspended it to deliberate after hearing Moreno and 11 other convicted people seek conditional suspension of their sentences. They offered to comply with conditions and obligations set by the court instead of going to prison.

atmosphere of impunity

· Leonardo Alarcón, acting Attorney General of EcuadorAlarcón argued that the sentences should be enforced in the corruption case.

Moreno’s wife, Rocío González, his daughter Irina Moreno, and his brothers Edwin and Guillermo are among those seeking the same benefit. They received sentences of two years and six months for bribery.

The defendants invoked a provision of Ecuador’s criminal code that applied when the conduct occurred but was later amended. The provision allows sentences of up to five years to be suspended if other requirements are met, including the absence of another active conviction or legal case. It also requires the defendant’s personal, social and family background, as well as the nature and seriousness of the conduct, to show that imprisonment is unnecessary. Ecuador excluded bribery convictions from the benefit in 2021.

corruption offense

· Leonardo Alarcón, acting Attorney General of EcuadorThe prosecutor cited the nature of the offense in opposing suspension of the sentences.

Acting Attorney General Leonardo Alarcón urged the judges to reject the requests. He said the applicants did not meet the requirements concerning their backgrounds and the seriousness of their conduct, and that enforcing the sentences was necessary to avoid creating an “atmosphere of impunity” in a corruption case.

Moreno and 19 other people were convicted on August 28. Prosecutors said Sinohydro paid about $76 million in bribes through a network of companies, distributing the money among several people, including members of Moreno’s family. The conduct dates to 2010, when Moreno was vice president under Rafael Correa. Moreno has rejected the accusations and said they were “totally false.”

totally false

· Lenín Moreno, former President of EcuadorMoreno rejected the accusations in a social-media message.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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