Ecuador’s prosecutor’s office is seeking the detention of ex-president Lenin Moreno in a corruption case.

Moreno and 13 other defendants must comply with house arrest because they are over the age of 65.

The public prosecutor requested a national freeze on bank accounts and international criminal assistance to Switzerland, Spain, Panama, China, Paraguay, the United States and Belize to secure accounts held by the defendants in those countries.

The investigation, which began in March 2019, “reveals the structure of corruption surrounding the Koko Koto Sinclair hydroelectric project, which is interstate and transnational in scope. would have developed His illegal activities between 2009 and 2018Salazar said in a message posted on social media this week.

“The amount of the alleged bribe amounts to approximately US$76 million, which is approximately 4% of the contract value of the work, which was initially approximately US$1,979 million,” Salazar explained.

The final cost of the job exceeded US$2.2 billion, the prosecutor said, adding that the alleged bribes would have been paid by Sinohydro and channeled through third parties.

China has not responded to requests for cooperation in the case, Salazar said.

The former president lives in Paraguay, where he is a commissioner of the Organization of American States with Disabilities.

Moreno denies the allegations and says he is surprised by the prosecutor’s office’s actions at a time when Ecuador is experiencing “a complicated political situation.”

“I have no responsibility in the ‘most iconic’ work contract of the People’s Revolution, no,” Moreno said in a letter published Wednesday on his Twitter account, referring to former President Rafael Correa’s political group. .

“I will defend myself by strictly adhering to the truth,” he added.

Moreno, who was Ecuador’s president between 2017 and 2021 and vice president between 2007 and 2013, has claimed that he was orchestrated by former president Rafael Correa, his former mentor and later rival.

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