The former president, who governed Ecuador from 2017 to 2021, was among 20 people convicted in the corruption case involving the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric dam by Chinese company Sinohydro.
Prosecutors said Sinohydro paid approximately $76 million in bribes, equivalent to about four per cent of the project’s total cost.
The former president was serving as vice-president under then-President Rafael Correa during the period covered by the allegations, between 2007 and 2013.
He later succeeded Correa as president with his predecessor’s support, but the two men eventually fell out after he shifted politically to the right and developed closer ties with the United States.
Following Friday’s verdict, the former president said he would appeal the ruling. His wife and other relatives were also handed prison sentences of nearly three years after being convicted of complicity in the corruption scheme.
Prosecutors had sought a six-and-a-half-year prison term for the former leader.
The 73-year-old, who is paraplegic and previously served as a United Nations special envoy on disability issues, denied receiving money from Sinohydro.
He insisted after the judgment that he had never received “a single cent” from the Chinese company and blamed the case on the administration of his former political ally.
He also accused Correa, who has separately been convicted of corruption and currently lives in Belgium, of seeking revenge following their political dispute.
Two former managers of the Coca Codo Sinclair power plant were also convicted in the case.
