Ecuador court finds ex-President Lenín Moreno guilty of bribery

Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno has been found guilty of bribery by the National Court of Justice. The court ruled that Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, facilitated the awarding of the country's largest hydroelectric plant, Coca Codo Sinclair, to the state-owned Chinese company Sinohydro in exchange for illicit payments.

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The indirect benefit received through third parties does not negate the assessment of the defendant's functional performance, but rather contributes to the financial correlation that, as a whole, establishes the nature of obtaining undue resources.

The tribunal established that Sinohydro funneled millions of dollars into a corporate network that subsequently distributed the funds among various entities and individuals, including members of Moreno's family. Investigations by the Public Ministry revealed that the Chinese construction firm paid approximately $76 million in bribes for the 1,500-megawatt project. Moreno and his associates allegedly received over $1 million from this sum.

During the trial, the presiding judge stated, "The indirect benefit received through third parties does not negate the assessment of the defendant's functional performance, but rather contributes to the financial correlation that, as a whole, establishes the nature of obtaining undue resources." Judges argued that Moreno exploited his position as vice president to intervene in areas beyond his operational responsibilities to favor the Asian firm.

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Rafael Correa offered to take revenge on me and other people.

The Attorney General's Office has requested a sentence of six years and six months in prison for the former head of state. The prosecution also seeks to extend this sentence to his wife, Rocío González, his daughter, Irina Moreno, former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo, and 17 other defendants. In addition to imprisonment, the prosecution is demanding political disqualification, suspension of political rights, economic restitution fines, and public apologies, including the placement of an anti-corruption plaque at the hydroelectric complex.

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Correism, through Ronny Aleaga, mounted the entire Sinohydro case, for which I was found guilty of...