The Peruvian justice system sentenced this Monday, October 21, 2024, to 20 years and six months in prison for former president Alejandro Toledo, after finding him guilty of receiving millionaire bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for works during his government (2001-2006).
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“This judge accepts the request made by the prosecution for 20 years and 6 months in prison for Mr. Alejandro Toledo Manrique,” the Superior Court announced. in a hearing in which the 78-year-old former president was present.
The sentence was read in a hearing in the court adjacent to the small prison for ex-presidents east of Lima, where Toledo has been held preventively for 18 months since he arrived extradited from the United States in April 2023.
The former president is sentenced for corruption
The sentence was based on charges of collusion and money laundering. The Prosecutor’s Office presented evidence indicating that Toledo had received more than 30 million dollars from Odebrecht in exchange for facilitating the concession of the Southern Interoceánica Road Project, an ambitious highway that connects Peru and Brazil.
During the final hearing, the 78-year-old former president pleaded not guilty, insisting that he had never made agreements with Jorge Barata, Odebrecht’s representative in Peru, nor had he received bribes. In addition, he appealed to the judge because of his delicate state of health, alleging heart problems and cancer. “I want to be cured or die at home,” Toledo implored before hearing the verdict.
The case of Alejandro Toledo dates back to 2016, when the construction company Odebrecht publicly admitted to having paid bribes to politicians throughout Latin America to obtain lucrative infrastructure contracts. Toledo, who was extradited from the United States in 2023, is the first of the four former Peruvian presidents involved in this scandal to receive a sentence.
Other former presidents such as Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and the late Alan García were also investigated for receiving irregular payments from Odebrecht. The latter committed suicide in 2019 when the authorities were preparing to arrest him.
The statements of key witnesses such as Josef Maiman, Toledo’s former collaborator, and Jorge Barata, were decisive for the case. Maiman confessed that Toledo used his accounts to receive the money, while Barata confirmed the payment of bribes in exchange for contracts.
What was the Odebrecht case?
The Odebrecht case is one of the biggest corruption scandals in Latin America. The Brazilian company Odebrecht, one of the largest construction companies in the region, confessed to having paid multimillion-dollar bribes to officials from several countries, from Brazil to Peru, with the aim of securing public works contracts.
This corruption scheme was discovered within the framework of the Lava Jato investigation, a court case that revealed how Odebrecht and other companies used their influence to manipulate governments and benefit from large infrastructure projects.
Investigations revealed that the company used a special department to manage and hide these payments, affecting dozens of politicians and businessmen throughout the region. In Peru, this scandal has involved four former presidents, as well as several high-ranking officials and businessmen.
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Source: https://www.noticiascaracol.com/mundo/condenan-a-expresidente-de-peru-a-20-anos-de-prision-por-corrupcion-en-el-caso-odebrecht-cb20
