Former President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno in a 2019 picture. HENRY ROMERO (Portal)
Prosecutor Diana Salazar this Friday requested preventive detention for former President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno, six of his relatives and 30 others for their alleged involvement in the bribery crime. According to Salazar, Moreno and his family circle, which includes his wife, daughter, two brothers and their sisters-in-law, received $660,000 in bribes from Chinese construction company Synohodro, which was contracted to build the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power station.
At Friday’s indictment hearing in Quito, the prosecutor, after two suspensions, requested preventive detention for the 37 involved, 14 of whom, including former President Lenin Moreno, are being housed at home because they are over 65 years old. He also called for national bank account freezes and international punitive assistance to Switzerland, Spain, Panama, China, Paraguay, the United States and Belize to keep the defendants’ accounts in those countries.
Prosecutors hypothesize that the illegal acts took place between 2009 and 2018, when Moreno held the position of Vice President in Rafael Correa’s government. The amount of the alleged bribery crime is $76 million, which is 4% of the original contract value for a $1.979 million work, although the country ended up paying $2.245 million for the dam. Salazar explained that the $76 million was moved through the national and international financial system between 2009 and 2018 in what he called the largest corruption case prosecuted in this country.
Lenin Moreno has been in Paraguay since the end of his term in 2021 after being appointed Organization of American States (OAS) Commissioner for Disability Issues.
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