Ecuadorian justice sentenced former President Lenin Moreno to five years in prison for corruption on Friday, August 28. He will serve his sentence under house arrest. The 73-year-old former leader announced that he would appeal the first-instance verdict.
To begin with, Moreno is accused of receiving bribes from the Chinese group Sinohydro in exchange for a contract to build a hydroelectric plant. The facts date back to when he was vice president under socialist Rafael Correa, between 2007 and 2013. The prosecution had requested six years and six months in prison.
Furthermore, the former president’s wife, daughter, and other family members were also convicted. They received almost three years in prison for complicity. In total, seven people were convicted, including a former Chinese ambassador, according to the prosecutor’s office on X. The prosecutor stated that Moreno participated in a corruption network that operated from 2009 to 2018 for the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant.
However, after the verdict, Moreno asserted that he had “not received a single cent from Sinohydro.” The Chinese company is accused of having paid bribes totaling 76 million dollars. He denounced political persecution orchestrated by Rafael Correa.
Rafael Correa led Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. He helped his protégé, Lenin Moreno, get elected to the presidency. Nevertheless, Moreno later turned to the right, moving closer to the United States, and fell out with his mentor.
Correa has lived in Belgium since leaving power. He was convicted in absentia in 2020 to eight years in prison for corruption in a case involving the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
Reference
Le Monde, “Lenin Moreno, ancien président équatorien, condamné à cinq ans de prison pour corruption,” published August 29, 2026. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2026/08/29/lenin-moreno-ancien-president-equatorien-condamne-a-cinq-ans-de-prison-pour-corruption_6759435_3210.html