Espinosa rejected the request of Moreno and his wife Rocío González to carry out a review of the precautionary measures that includes the presentation every 15 days before the National Court of Justice (CNJ), while the investigative phase of the process is carried out.

Moreno and his spouse had requested to appear before the diplomatic delegation in Paraguay, where they have resided since 2022, while his defense claimed that, medically, it was impossible for them to travel to Ecuador every 15 days. However, the magistrate did not accept that request and ratified the production order against Moreno, his wife, his daughter, his brother and four other defendants.

The first presentation of the ex-president and his wife Rocío should have been made on March 20, but they did not do so pending the decision of Judge Espinosa who argued that, once that request was denied, both officially failed to comply with the alternative measure.

The Prosecutor’s Office has not yet confirmed when it will request the change of precautionary measures. According to the regulations in the Andean country, the request for preventive detention would generate a request to Interpol (International Police) to locate and detain the defendants.

According to the thesis of the Prosecutor’s Office, the 37 investigated in the case formed a criminal structure that collected 76 million dollars in bribes from the Chinese company Sinohydro, in charge of the construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant.

The complaints against Moreno stemmed from an investigation released in 2019 into a corruption case that directly involves the company INA Investment Corporation, created by his brother Edwin Moreno, which supposedly bears part of the name of the daughters of the former head of state.

The registered documentation revealed that this company managed accounts at Balboa Bank, in Panama, from which luxury items were purchased for a Moreno apartment in Geneva (Switzerland).

ef/ro/nta