A court in Peru has sentenced former President Alejandro Toledo to 20 years and six months in prison for corruption and money laundering. Prosecutors allege he accepted $35 million in bribes from a Brazilian construction firm awarded a contract to build a road in southern Peru.
Toledo, who served from 2001 to 2006, was arrested in California five years ago and extradited to Peru last year.
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The Brazilian company Odebrecht has admitted to paying millions in bribes to secure contracts throughout Latin America and the U.S. Judge Inés Rojas stated that Peruvians had “trusted” Toledo as their leader, responsible for managing public finances, but he ultimately “defrauded the state.” Throughout the proceedings, Toledo has denied the charges, often smirking and laughing during the judge’s remarks.
In 2019, another former president, Alan García, took his own life when police arrived to arrest him over bribery allegations related to Odebrecht, now known as Novonor. Additionally, two other former presidents, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala, are under investigation in connection with the Odebrecht case.
