Ecuador’s Public Prosecutor’s Office to file bribery charges in Sinohydro case after four-year investigation

Photo: Rafael_Correa_y_Lenin_Moreno. By: Agencia de Noticias ANDES. Source: WikiCommons.

The Ecuadorian Attorney General’s Office will finalize the investigation of the so-called INA Papers. After almost four years of investigation, the entity has renamed the process the Sinohydro case. The investigation focuses on a criminal structure that allegedly collected $76 million in bribes to the Chinese company Sinohydro, responsible for the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant during the government of Rafael Correa. Among the 37 investigated is former president Lenín Moreno, who in this case is being investigated for his role as vice-president during Correa’s administration. The list of those under investigation includes former officials and their relatives, businessmen, and their relatives, Chinese businessmen and persons with unknown roles.

The indictment hearing will take place on March 2, 2023 and will be presided over by Judge Adrian Rojas, following which a 90-day prosecutorial investigation will begin. Diana Salazar, Attorney General of the State, has asserted that the bribes paid by Sinohydro were delivered through a structure of front companies, which would have hidden the identity of the final beneficiaries of the bribes. The Sinohydro case also concerns an alleged link between Lenín Moreno and the offshore company INA Investment, through his brother, and his relationship with Xavier Macías Carmigniani, son-in-law of businessman Conto Patiño. Moreno has denied the accusations against him.

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Primicias. (2023, February 23). Los 37 investigados por posibles sobornos en el Caso Sinohydro.