Two former Sinohydro executives sentenced to five years in Ecuador
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Times of Eswatini
Two former executives of Sinohydro, a Chinese state-owned construction company, have been sentenced to five years in prison in Ecuador in a corruption case linked to former president Lenín Moreno. Former Chinese ambassador Cai Runguo and Moreno were also imprisoned, according to the Times of Eswatini.
Two former executives of Sinohydro, the Chinese infrastructure construction company, have been sentenced to five years in prison in Ecuador in a corruption case linked to the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant. They are Yang Huijun, the company’s former executive and legal representative, and Song Dongsheng, former president of Sinohydro and PowerChina International, reports the Times of Eswatini.
Ecuador’s National Court of Justice found 24 defendants guilty of corruption, according to the country’s Attorney General’s Office. Others sentenced include former Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno, his wife, daughter and brother, as well as Cai Runguo, China’s former ambassador to Ecuador.
Prosecutors say the Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro paid a total of $76.1 million through shell companies to people involved in awarding the dam construction contract. In a statement published on 28 August 2026, the Attorney General’s Office said the trial had lasted 31 days and established that illicit payments were linked to the awarding and execution of the project.
