Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for receiving illegal campaign funds from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht during his successful 2011 election campaign. His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also sentenced to 15 years and has sought asylum in the Brazilian embassy in Lima due to her health condition. Humala, who led Peru from 2011 to 2016, will likely serve his sentence in a police base where other former presidents are also jailed.
During his trial, which lasted three years, Humala denied the charges as political persecution, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove the origin of the funds. Odebrecht has admitted to distributing bribes across Latin America and changed its name to Novonor in 2020. Humala is the second former president of Peru to be jailed and the fourth to be involved in the corruption scandal known as “Lava Jato.”
Former President Alan Garcia died by suicide in 2019 when police went to arrest him for corruption allegations related to Odebrecht. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was forced to resign in 2018, and Alejandro Toledo was sentenced to 20 years in prison after receiving bribes. Former Odebrecht executives revealed that the company financed almost all presidential candidates in Peru for nearly three decades. Humala’s lawyer plans to appeal the sentencing once the final ruling is issued on April 29.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
