Moreno sentenced to 5 year prison term!
Guayaquil, Ecuador, Aug 28 (EFE).-
Correa
Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes linked to the financing and construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the country’s largest power project.
A panel of the National Court of Justice (CNJ) imposed the maximum sentence for bribery and permanently barred Moreno, who governed the country from 2017 to 2021, from holding public office.
The court ruled that Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro paid millions of dollars to a network of intermediaries, with funds allegedly distributed to companies and individuals, including members of Moreno’s family.
The offenses date back to Moreno’s tenure as vice president under former President Rafael Correa (2007–2017).
Twenty other defendants were convicted in the case, including Moreno’s wife Rocío González, daughter Irina Moreno, brothers Edwin and Guillermo Moreno, sister-in-law Marta González, businessman Conto Patiño, and former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo.
Moreno, Patiño and Cai each received five-year prison terms, while Moreno’s wife, daughter and other relatives were sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
According to prosecutors, Moreno and his family received more than $1 million from a wider $76 million bribery scheme allegedly paid by Sinohydro to secure contracts and financing from China’s Eximbank for the 1,500-megawatt hydroelectric project.
The judges concluded that Moreno used his position as vice president to intervene in matters beyond his official authority to benefit Sinohydro and received illicit benefits through third parties.
Moreno rejected the ruling, insisting he had not received “a single cent from Sinohydro” and alleging the case was orchestrated by Correa in retaliation for distancing himself from his predecessor after taking office.
The Coca Codo Sinclair plant began operating in late 2016 but was formally accepted by President Daniel Noboa’s government only in April 2026 after authorities documented thousands of structural cracks.
Moreno said his administration had uncovered around 17,000 cracks during its own review of the project.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered Moreno, his wife, daughter and other relatives to repay three times the amount they allegedly received, while the remaining convicted defendants must repay double the illicit proceeds.
The ruling is subject to appeal. EFE cbs-sk
