An Ecuadorian court has sentenced former President Lenin Moreno to five years in prison after convicting him of accepting bribes connected to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant. The ruling was issued on August 28, 2026.
Moreno, who led Ecuador from 2017 to 2021, was one of about 20 people found guilty in the case involving the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project. Prosecutors said the Chinese firm Sinohydro paid roughly $76 million in bribes, about 4 percent of the project’s total ccostm during the period when Moreno served as vice president and later as president.
The court also handed nearly three-year sentences to Moreno’s wife and other relatives for their alleged roles as accomplices. Two former managers of the power plant were among those convicted. Prosecutors had sought a longer term of six and a half years for the former president.
Moreno, 73, has denied the charges. After the verdict he stated that he never received “a single cent” from Sinohydro. He described the case as an act of political revenge by the government of his former ally and predecessor, Rafael Correa, following their public falling-out.
Moreno served as Correa’s vice president from 2007 to 2013 before succeeding him in the presidency. The political partnership later collapsed after Moreno shifted away from Correa’s leftist policies and strengthened ties with the United States. The Coca Codo Sinclair plant, built by Sinohydro, remains Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric facility.
Moreno has said he will appeal the conviction.
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