Ecuador's ex-president jailed five years for bribery

An Ecuadorean court has found former president Lenin Moreno guilty in a bribery case tied to the construction of the Andean country's largest hydroelectric plant.

Moreno, 73, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison and has been permanently barred from holding any public office in the future.

The attorney-general's office launched the investigation in March 2023, linking Moreno, family members and local and Chinese business partners, including China's former ambassador to Quito, to an alleged corruption network tied to the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair plant, which began operating in 2016 and has experienced technical problems since.

"Lenin Moreno's conduct is consistent with the charges brought by the prosecution: the crime of bribery attributed to a public official," Judge Manuel Cabrera, head of the tribunal, said while delivering the ruling.

Morneo's wife and daughter, as well as his two brothers and sisters-in-law were also found guilty, and were sentenced to two years and six months in prison. China's former ambassador to Quito, Cai Runguo, was also sentenced to five years.

Prosecutors had requested sentences of more than six years for Moreno and 19 other defendants.

According to the attorney-general's office, Sinohydro paid approximately $US76.1 million ($A106.2 million) in bribes between 2009 and 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.

Investigators alleged the funds were routed via overseas bank accounts and shell companies in tax havens to Moreno's family and business associates.

The prosecution said Moreno and his close relatives received more than $US1 million ($A1.4 million) while he served as vice president from 2007 to 2013.

Moreno, 73, has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining he had no involvement in signing or overseeing the project's contracts.

"A word of advice to the prosecutor: you're looking in the wrong place. Look at those who signed the contracts, at those who had the habit of demanding kickbacks, you're looking in the wrong place," Moreno said at the hearing.

Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, returned to Ecuador from Paraguay to face the trial.