Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno Sentenced to 5 Years for Corruption
- Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno received a five-year prison sentence on Friday after a court convicted him of taking kickbacks from a Chinese firm in exchange for helping...
- The court also convicted several members of Moreno's family as accomplices in the corruption ring.
- Investigators stated that a corruption ring functioned between 2008 and 2018, gathering illicit payments totaling 4% of the overall cost of the undertaking managed by Sinohydro.
Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno received a five-year prison sentence on Friday after a court convicted him of taking kickbacks from a Chinese firm in exchange for helping it win a dam-building contract, based on Associated Press reporting.
Moreno, who was present for the reading of the verdict in Quito, is 73 years old and has a physical disability that prevents him from walking. He will serve the sentence under house arrest. Prosecutors established that Moreno participated directly in the bribery scheme during his tenure as vice president under Rafael Correa.
Family Convictions and Restitution Orders
The court also convicted several members of Moreno’s family as accomplices in the corruption ring. His wife and daughter, two brothers, and a brother-in-law were all found guilty alongside the former president.
The court sentenced Moreno’s wife and daughter to 30 months in prison each. In addition to the prison terms and house arrest, the court ordered all convicted family members to repay triple the amount they received illicitly within a period of 90 days.
The Sinohydro Bribe Network and Project Background
Investigators stated that a corruption ring functioned between 2008 and 2018, gathering illicit payments totaling 4% of the overall cost of the undertaking managed by Sinohydro. The state investigations revealed that the illicit funds were distributed through domestic and international transactions to public officials and other beneficiaries, including Moreno.
Construction on the roughly $2 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric facility was initiated by Sinohydro in 2010 and transferred to Ecuador in 2016. The infrastructure project has faced persistent criticism over structural defects since its completion.
Broader Context of Presidential Corruption Trials in Ecuador
Having been tried for offenses that occurred prior to taking office, Moreno becomes the third former head of state in Ecuador to receive a corruption conviction. The legal actions reflect a broader pattern of high-level graft convictions in the South American nation over recent decades.
Former President Rafael Correa was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in prison in a bribery case involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, though he remains in Belgium, where he has lived for years. Former President Jamil Mahuad was sentenced in 2014 to eight years for misuse of public funds, while another former president, Abdalá Bucaram, awaits sentencing after a conviction for organized crime, according to Associated Press records.
Political Rise and Sequence of Administrations
Starting out as a tourism entrepreneur, Moreno gained widespread recognition in 2007 upon becoming vice president under Correa, who governed Ecuador for a decade. Moreno served in that role until 2013, when Jorge Glas succeeded him.
In 2017, Moreno won the presidency as a candidate of the Correísta movement founded around Correa, selecting Glas as his running mate. Glas later left office and is now serving a prison sentence for corruption, according to verified reporting.