SCMP Economy1 hour agoPolitics1 min readChina

Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno Appeals Bribery Conviction

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Former Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno and a former Chinese ambassador to Quito appealed to the country's highest court to overturn five-year sentences for a US$76 million bribery scheme linked to the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project.
Moreno, convicted last week, remains free and would serve any sentence at home due to his paraplegia if the conviction is upheld.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Lenin Moreno served as vice-president from 2007 to 2013 and became president in 2017. He was convicted last week by a three-judge panel of Ecuador's National Court of Justice for his role in securing financing for the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project through alleged bribes from Sinohydro, a subsidiary of China's PowerChina.

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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 contractor.

The judges found unanimously that he had used his position as vice-president, held from 2007 to 2013 before he won the presidency in 2017, to help secure financing for the Coca Codo Sinclair plant, built by Sinohydro, a unit of Chinese state group PowerChina.

But the former president has not been detained and remains in Ecuador, and if the conviction is upheld, he would serve his term at home rather than in prison, because he is paraplegic.

The judges will take up his request on September 7 and, if it is granted, his prison term would be suspended and replaced with conditions such as periodic reporting.

“I have not received a single cent from Sinohydro, so please do not come and tell me that I am an accused man,” Moreno told reporters after the ruling was read out.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The Constitutional Court will rule on Moreno's appeal by September 7, 2024.
Very likely · Within days
If the appeal is denied, Lenin Moreno will serve his five-year sentence under house arrest due to his paraplegia.
Likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

What specific evidence supports the bribery allegations?
Will the former Chinese ambassador also face legal consequences?
How will this affect Ecuador-China relations on future infrastructure projects?