Former Ecuadorian president appears in court after five years abroad in a major corruption case tied to Coca Codo Sinclair

Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno returned to the country after five years abroad ahead of a court hearing Monday in the Sinohydro case, one of Ecuador’s most significant corruption investigations of the past decade.

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Moreno arrived in Ecuador on Wednesday from Paraguay alongside his wife, Rocío González, and is scheduled to appear before the National Court of Justice, where prosecutors accuse him of alleged bribery linked to the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant.

The case, also known as the INA Papers investigation, examines an alleged corruption network that reportedly operated between 2009 and 2018 during the awarding of contracts for the country’s largest hydroelectric project.

According to Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office, the Chinese company Sinohydro allegedly delivered around 76 million U.S. dollars in bribes, equivalent to nearly four percent of the total cost of the energy project.

Text Reads: The apartment acquired by Moreno and Rocío González is presented by the Prosecutor’s Office as a possible benefit derived from the bribery scheme received by the former president.

Prosecutors argue the payments were funneled through fictitious consultancy contracts, shell companies and bank transfers connected to Moreno’s inner circle while he served as vice president.

The investigation also includes accounts at Panama’s Balboa Bank linked to INA Investment Corporation, a company founded by Moreno’s brother. Authorities allege those funds were used to acquire luxury goods for members of the former president’s family environment.

Opposition criticism

Moreno’s return immediately generated criticism from opposition sectors and figures linked to the Citizens’ Revolution movement.

Andean Parliament member Sofía Espín claimed the former president’s return was linked to an alleged agreement with the government of President Daniel Noboa, stating that Moreno “feels untouchable.”

Text Reads: Do they think they’re fooling anyone? We’re facing a new Pact of Shame, this time between Moreno and Noboa. He’s returning because he feels untouchable; he knows he’ll be acquitted even though there’s abundant evidence of his corrupt acts. The citizens must punish this shamelessness at the ballot box.

Viviana Veloz, a lawmaker from the Citizens’ Revolution movement, said Moreno allegedly had judicial guarantees in exchange for continuing his attacks against former President Rafael Correa.

Legislator Xavier Lasso argued that Moreno’s responsibility should extend beyond corruption allegations, pointing to the repression of the October 2019 protests and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Judicial process

The Sinohydro investigation initially involved 37 individuals and has become one of Ecuador’s most emblematic corruption cases in recent years.

Monday’s hearing will determine the next stage of legal proceedings against Moreno and his wife in a case that has become a major reference point in Ecuador’s debate over corruption, political accountability and judicial independence.

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