Ecuador’s ex-president and Chinese ambassador seek to avoid jail over belt and road dam
Former Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno and a former Chinese ambassador to Quito asked the country’s highest court on Thursday to spare them the five-year sentences handed down last week over a US$76 million bribery scheme. Moreno was convicted of bribery by a three-judge panel of the National Court of Justice over contracts for Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric project secured by a Chinese state…
Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno and a former Chinese Ambassador to Quito, Cai Runguo, sought to avoid their five-year prison sentences for their involvement in a US$76 million bribery scheme. Moreno and Cai were convicted by Ecuador's National Court of Justice over contracts for the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project, built by Sinohydro, a Chinese state contractor.
The judges unanimously ruled that Moreno had used his position as vice-president in the 2000s to help secure the financing. However, Moreno, who is paralyzed, remains in Ecuador and his prison term could be suspended if the conviction is upheld on September 7. The case has been criticized as motivated by revenge from former President Rafael Correa, who is now in Belgium, and has resulted in the conviction of 20 out of 21 defendants.
The hydroelectric plant, the most expensive ever built in Ecuador, has struggled to meet its capacity due to defects, contributing to power outages, particularly during the 2024 drought.
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