A Peruvian court has convicted former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, of 15 years in prison for money laundering $3 million that was traced to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, as well as $200,000 that they were paid by the government of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Following Tuesday’s decision, Humala, 62, was detained and is currently being held at a police station. Heredia, 48, on the other hand, sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Lima, as reported by Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She and their youngest son have since been granted safe passage to Brazil.
The three-year trial, which began following an investigation that was launched in 2016, saw Humala denounce the charges as political. His attorneys plan to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors alleged that Humala used the illicit money in his 2011 presidential bid against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of yet another former president, using his Nationalist Party.
Humala, a former army officer who was president between 2011 and 2016, will likely be serving his prison sentence at a police base constructed for VIP detainees. Toledo, a former president, and Pedro Castillo are already in custody at the center. Toledo was given over 20 years for accepting $35 million in bribes, and Castillo faces a charge of “rebellion” after he attempted to dissolve Congress in 2022.
The Odebrecht scandal had far-reaching effects when the firm pledged in 2016 to pay $3.5 billion in fines across Brazil, the U.S., and Switzerland to make up for over $788 million in bribes of foreign public officials for road deals.
