Former President Found Guilty in Hydropower Project Bribery Case, China Implicated

Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has been found guilty in a bribery case linked to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric power plant. The verdict was delivered by an Ecuadorian court on Friday (28/8/2026), according to the attorney general’s office.

The case concerns the Coca Codo Sinclair project, Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric plant, which began operating in 2016. The project has faced various technical problems since it started operations.

The attorney general’s office began its investigation in March 2023. The investigation linked Moreno, members of his family, and a number of local and Chinese business partners to an alleged corruption network within the project.

One of the parties also implicated is the former Chinese ambassador to Ecuador.

“Lenin Moreno’s actions correspond to the charges brought by the prosecutor, namely the criminal offence of bribery alleged against a public official,” said presiding judge Manuel Cabrera when reading the verdict, as reported by Reuters.

Moreno’s wife and daughter were also found guilty in the case.

Prosecutors had previously requested a sentence of more than six years in prison for Moreno and 19 other defendants.

According to the attorney general’s office, Chinese company Sinohydro allegedly paid around US$76.1 million in bribes between 2009 and 2018. The payments were said to have been disguised through fake consultancy contracts.

Investigators suspect the bribe proceeds were channelled through overseas bank accounts and shell companies operating in tax haven countries.

The funds were then said to have flowed to Moreno’s family and a number of his business associates. Prosecutors said Moreno and his close relatives received more than US$1 million while he served as Ecuador’s vice president from 2007 to 2013.

Moreno, now 73 years old, has consistently denied the allegations. He stated that he was never involved in the signing or supervision of the Coca Codo Sinclair project contract.

During the trial, Moreno even asked prosecutors to direct their investigation towards other parties whom he considered more closely linked to the project contract.

“A little advice for the prosecutor: you are looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contract, those who are accustomed to demanding illegal commissions. You are looking in the wrong place,” he said.

Moreno served as President of Ecuador from 2017 to 2021.

To face the trial, he returned to Ecuador from Paraguay, where he had been living before returning to face legal proceedings over the bribery case.