Ecuador Ex-President Lenín Moreno Found Guilty of Bribery

Quito, Ecuador – A tribunal has declared former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno guilty of bribery, a verdict stemming from allegations that he accepted illicit payments to benefit the Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro during the construction of the country's largest hydroelectric power plant.

Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021 and was vice president under Rafael Correa when the plant was conceived, was found by judges at the National Court of Justice (CNJ) to have used his position to influence the project. The court determined that millions in funds were channeled through a business circle and distributed to various entities and individuals, including members of Moreno's family.

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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 prosecution had previously requested a six-year and six-month prison sentence for Moreno, his wife Rocío González, their daughter Irina Moreno, and 17 others, including former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo. The judges stated that Moreno intervened in matters outside his purview as vice president to favor Sinohydro, receiving indirect benefits through third parties.

According to the prosecution's case, Moreno and his family allegedly received over $1 million from a total of $76 million in bribes paid by Sinohydro for the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. In addition to prison time, prosecutors sought the disqualification of all defendants from holding public office or entering into state contracts, suspension of political rights, fines, and full reparations. The court is now set to announce the sentence for Moreno and the other defendants.

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I decided to attend in person because I wanted to 'face them' and assure, as I have said on other occasions, that this trial is an alleged 'revenge' orchestrated by former President Correa.