Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno must appear before Ecuadorian Court

Quito, March 17 (RHC)-- Ecuador's former president Lenín Moreno, indicted for his alleged participation in the Sinohydro case, must appear before the country's National Court of Justice on Monday, March 20th.

This Friday a Court of the National Court of Justice -CNJ-, rejected the preventive habeas corpus action filed by the defense of Moreno and his wife, Rocio Gonzalez, after the precautionary measure that establishes the presentation every 15 days before the Criminal Chamber of the National Court in the case that investigates 37 people for the crime of bribery.

Moreno and his wife had requested to appear at the Embassy of Asunción-Paraguay, where they reside.  After the Court's decision, the defense of the former Ecuadorian president announced that he will appeal.

According to the thesis of the Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office, the 37 people investigated in the case formed a criminal structure that charged US$ 76 million in bribes to the Chinese company Sinohydro, which was in charge of the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant, during the government of Rafael Correa.

The allegations against Moreno stemmed from an investigation titled "The offshore labyrinth of the presidential circle," released in 2019 about a corruption case, which directly involves the company INA Investment Corporation, created by Edwin Moreno, which, allegedly, bears part of the name of the daughters of the former head of state.

According to the registered documentation, that company managed accounts in Balboa Bank, Panama, from which expensive furniture, carpets and other luxury items were acquired for Moreno's apartment in Geneva (Switzerland), where he served as special envoy of the UN Secretary General for persons with disabilities