Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno was sentenced Friday to 5 years in prison after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes from a Chinese company in exchange for helping it secure a contract to build a hydroelectric plant.
Moreno, who was present for the reading of the verdict, is 73 years old and has a physical disability that prevents him from walking. He will serve the sentence under house arrest.
Moreno was convicted as a direct participant in the bribery scheme during his tenure as vice president under Rafael Correa. His wife and daughter, two brothers and a brother-in-law were convicted as accomplices. The wife and daughter each received 30-month sentences. All were ordered to repay triple what they received illicitly within a period of 90 days.
Moreno is the third former Ecuadorian president to be sentenced for corruption, though he was tried for crimes before reaching the presidency.
Correa was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in prison in a bribery case involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht but remains in Belgium, where he has lived for years. Former President Jamil Mahuad was also sentenced in 2014 to eight years for misuse of public funds. Another former president, Abdalá Bucaram, is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of organized crime.
Prosecutors said a corruption network operated from 2008 to 2018, collecting bribes equal to 4% of the value of the project carried out by Sinohydro. They said the money was distributed through domestic and international transactions to public officials and other beneficiaries, including Moreno.
