The justice system accuses former President Lenín Moreno of having allegedly received bribes from a Chinese company in exchange for the contract to build the largest hydroelectric plant in Ecuador. Another 36 people, including several relatives of Moreno, have been charged in the same case. Moreno is an OAS official
The Attorney General of Ecuador, Diana Salazar, requested this Friday, March 3, “preventive detention” for the former president of that country, Lenín Moreno, and “for all those investigated, since 14 of them are over 65 years of age.”
The 37 investigated, among whom are close relatives of former President Moreno, “would have received close to 76 million dollars in bribes,” which according to the Prosecutor’s Office is “the highest amount prosecuted for acts of corruption in Ecuador.”
The alleged corruption network operated from 2009 to 2018 in the construction of the Coca-Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project, whose cost reached 2,345 million dollars and was in charge of the Chinese firm Sinohydro. This hydroelectric plant, located between the Amazonian provinces of Napo and Sucumbíos (east), began operating in 2016 and has the capacity to cover 30% of the national energy demand. However, damage to its infrastructure has been detected.
Moreno, who has served as Commissioner of the Organization of American States (OAS) for Disability Affairs in Paraguay since 2021, denies the allegations for the alleged crime of bribery, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison in Ecuador.
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Lenín Moreno was vice president during the socialist government of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who has also been sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption in the “Bribes 2012-2016” case. Moreno was elected president for the period 2017-2021.
Moreno, his wife, daughter, brothers and sisters-in-law are involved in the investigation. His relative Conto Patiño, his family and officials of his company “Comercial Recorsa”, through which the bribes would be distributed, are also part of the investigation.
In addition, a former Chinese ambassador to Ecuador is involved in the plot, who was later the legal representative of Sinohydro in the South American country.
“I do not have nor did I have any responsibility in the contracting of the work” Coca-Codo Sinclair, said the former president in a statement through his Twitter account, on February 22.
The Prosecutor’s Office also requested the retention of bank accounts of the defendants and the prohibition to dispose of assets.
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