Ecuador’s Attorney General requests house arrest for former President Lenín Moreno

The Ecuadorian Attorney General’s Office, in the voice of its rector, Diana Salazar, requested this Friday, March 3, house arrest for former President Lenín Moreno for the Sinohydro case.

The measure is accompanied by a prison sentence for another 36 involved in the scandal of alleged bribes received for the construction of the largest hydroelectric plant in the country. In the case of Moreno and 13 other people, imprisonment is not appropriate for people over 65 years of age, for which reason compliance with the imposition at home was requested.

The former president, who appeared this Friday at a virtual hearing to formulate charges, is in Paraguay, acting as commissioner of the Organization of American States for Disability Affairs.

The general figures in bribes are dated at about 76 million dollars. A part of this money allegedly ended up in the hands of various members of the family of the former vice president of Rafael Correa.

Moreno’s wife, his daughter, his brothers, his sisters-in-law and even his mother-in-law are also being investigated for receiving thousands of dollars. The investigation estimates the amount that would have been received by those close to Lenín Moreno at $660,000.

The prosecutor’s office accuses Moreno and his wife of receiving $220,000 through a furnished house. The daughter of both is assigned about 50,000, the brothers of the former head of state are accused of 350,000 and 10,000 dollars, as well as their sisters-in-law, who are suspected of accepting between 10,000 and 15,000 dollars.

Other citizens stand out among the 37 defendants. One of them is Conto Patiño, who is accused of receiving the bulk of the bribes.

Patiño, who is known for being a friend of the family, would have outlined the trade name of the company Comercial Recorsa CA so that the firm’s activity would match the construction of the hydroelectric plant and thus be able to receive more than 70 million Dollars. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, they have bank certificates that “evidence the transfers made” for the amount.

Two managers of the mega structure are also accused of receiving payments for recommending and accepting the offer of the Chinese engineering and construction company Sinohydro.

The ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the Moreno Administration, Cai Runguo, was also mentioned by the fiscal body. After completing a mission as head of the Asian legation, he served as a representative of the construction company.

The Attorney General’s Office argues that Cai presented, in various diplomatic meetings, company executives with high-ranking officials of the Ecuadorian Government “to establish business relations.”

Precautionary measures on assets

The Attorney General’s Office also issued a series of measures to “guarantee eventual non-material comprehensive reparation to the victim, who in this case is the Ecuadorian State.” Among them, the retention of the accounts of those involved, policies and investments that they are making in the international financial system.

The authorities requested international criminal assistance from nations such as Switzerland, China, Spain, Panama, Paraguay, Belize and the United States, to carry out actions similar to those carried out in the national territory of Ecuador.

In addition, the Prosecutor’s Office prohibited the alienation of assets at the national and international level; an average that prevents the transfer of value to other people so as not to be left empty-handed while the process lasts.

Moreno points to other officials of the “citizen revolution”

At the time the file was released by the Attorney General’s Office, in the final days of February, the former president reacted in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

“I have no responsibility in contracting the “most emblematic” work of the Citizen Revolution” (as correísmo called the process of changes carried out in the nation under its management), Moreno said.

“The Coca Codo Sinclair project was in charge of the competent authorities at that time, while I exercised my functions as vice president and with the sole competence of carrying out the Manuela Espejo program,” the former official emphasized, referring to the plan developed by his boss, the then President Rafael Correa, to identify and study all people with disabilities in the country.

For his part, Correa was not left out. This Friday he also received a notification from the National Police of Ecuador to “provide his free and voluntary version of the facts under investigation.” Correa, who is under Belgium asylum condition, denounced that the purpose of the summons is to involve him, despite the fact that it was his movement that “denounced” everything.

“I am under the jurisdiction of Belgium. And anything you will have to apply for through the Belgian Chancellery,” she said.

The Sinohydro case

Known for an investigation published by the portal ‘La Fuente’, the ‘Sinohydro’ scandal broke out in 2019. In the investigation, it became known about the participation of one of Lenín Moreno’s brothers, who had several accounts in alleged tax havens . He was also blamed for having a luxurious residence in Spain.

Moreno was also linked to the company INA Investment, which led to a prior investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office during his Vice Presidency. Lenín Moreno blames Correa and his followers for persecution and for setting up a political strategy against him.

With the progress of the investigations, the information was triangulated with the Chinese company Sinohydro. The mega hydroelectric structure known as Coca Codo Sinclair, located on the Coca River, has failed despite the costs and the legal movements it has generated.

with EFE