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An Ecuadorian court has convicted former President Lenín Moreno of accepting bribes linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric dam by Chinese company Sinohydro.
Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, was among four people found guilty in the corruption case involving the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project, according to Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office.
The alleged corruption took place between 2007 and 2013, when Moreno served as vice president under then-President Rafael Correa.
Moreno later succeeded Correa with his backing but eventually broke with his former mentor, moving politically to the right and strengthening ties with the United States.
The court in Quito has yet to announce Moreno’s sentence. He remains free pending sentencing, while prosecutors are seeking a six-and-a-half-year prison term.
Moreno, 73, who is paraplegic and previously served as a United Nations special envoy on disability issues, rejected the allegations following Friday’s verdict.
He insisted that he had never received “a single cent” from Sinohydro and blamed the prosecution on what he called “the Correa regime.”
Moreno accused Correa, his former ally who later became his political rival, of orchestrating the case against him.
Correa, who has also been convicted of corruption and is living in exile in Belgium, “promised to take revenge on me,” Moreno said.
Prosecutors allege that Sinohydro paid $76 million in bribes, equivalent to about 4% of the cost of the Coca Codo Sinclair project.
Three other Ecuadoran nationals were convicted alongside Moreno, including two former managers of the hydroelectric plant.
About 20 people have been implicated in the wider investigation, including Moreno’s wife and daughter, several businesspeople and a former Chinese ambassador to Quito.
The Coca Codo Sinclair project, built by Sinohydro, is Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric facility and a major component of the country’s electricity infrastructure.
Moreno’s conviction adds to a series of corruption cases involving senior political figures in Ecuador, including his predecessor Correa, whose administration oversaw the period during which prosecutors say the alleged bribery scheme took place.
