Former Ecuadorian president and ex-Chinese envoy seek to avoid jail over dam bribery
Former President Lenin Moreno and former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo asked Ecuador’s top court to suspend their five-year prison sentences for a US$76 million bribery case linked to a hydroelectric project.
A three-judge panel of Ecuador’s National Court of Justice found former President Lenin Moreno guilty of bribery in a US$76 million scheme tied to the country’s largest hydroelectric project, the Coca Codo Sinclair plant. The scheme involved Sinohydro, part of the Chinese state group PowerChina, which secured the contract after Moreno allegedly leveraged his 2007-2013 vice-presidential position. Both Moreno and former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo received five-year prison sentences, but Moreno, who is paraplegic, has not been detained and would serve any term at home.
The duo filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking that the sentences be suspended and replaced with conditions such as periodic reporting. The court will consider the request on September 7, and Moreno maintains he received no money from Sinohydro.
Why it matters
The case highlights high-level corruption involving foreign infrastructure deals and could set a precedent for how political figures are punished in Ecuador.
In this story
