QUITO , Dec 8 (Reuters) - An Ecuadorean judge on Monday ordered former president Lenin Moreno to stand trial on charges of alleged bribery connected to the construction of the country's largest hydroelectric power plant.
The case, first brought by the prosecutor's office in March 2023, connected Moreno, members of his family, and local and Chinese business associates to bribes receivedfor the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair plant, which began operations in 2016 and has experienced technical issues since.
The Chinese company Sinohydro, the hydroelectric plant's builder, allegedly paid bribes of around $76 million between 2009 and 2018, according to the prosecutor.
Moreno, who served as vice president from 2007 to 2013 and as president from 2017 to 2021, has consistently denied the allegations. He currently resides in Paraguay, which is expected to complicate legal proceedings.
“I have presented all the evidence to the attorney general’s office, and they have not been able to prove that I received a single cent,” Moreno said in a video posted on social media last week. “Let’s not allow such a great injustice to be committed.”
The Coca Codo Sinclair plant, which began operations in 2016, has been plagued by technical and structural issues since its inauguration. While the investigation was ongoing, Moreno had been required to appear periodically before Ecuador's National Court of Justice in Quito.
"This judge resolves to bring citizen Lenin Moreno to trial as the direct perpetrator of the crime of bribery", Judge Olavo Hernandez said in his ruling.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia)
