Peru’s ex-president Toledo gets more than 20 years in prison in case linked to corruption scandal 

Lima — 

Peru’s erstwhile President Alejandro Toledo connected Monday was sentenced to 20 years and six months successful situation successful a lawsuit involving Brazilian operation elephantine Odebrecht, which became synonymous with corruption crossed Latin America, wherever it paid millions of dollars successful bribes to authorities officials and others.

Authorities accused Toledo of accepting $35 cardinal successful bribes from Odebrecht successful speech for allowing the operation of a road successful the South American country. The National Superior Court of Specialized Criminal Justice successful the capital, Lima, imposed the condemnation aft years of ineligible wrangling, including a quality implicit whether Toledo, who governed Peru from 2001 to 2006, could beryllium extradited from the United States.

Judge Inés Rojas said Toledo’s victims were Peruvians who “trusted” him arsenic their president. Rojas explained that successful that role, Toledo was “in complaint of managing nationalist finances” and liable for “protecting and ensuring the correct” usage of resources. Instead, she said, helium “defrauded the state.”

She added that Toledo “had the work to enactment with implicit neutrality, support and sphere the assets of the state, avoiding their maltreatment oregon exploitation,” but helium did not bash so.

Odebrecht, which built immoderate of Latin America’s astir important infrastructure projects, admitted to U.S. authorities successful 2016 to having bought authorities contracts passim the portion with generous bribes. The probe by the U.S. Department of Justice spun probes successful respective countries, including Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador.

In Peru, authorities accused Toledo and 3 different erstwhile presidents of receiving payments from the operation giant. They alleged Toledo received $35 cardinal from Odebrecht successful speech for the declaration to physique 650 kilometers (403 miles) of a road linking Brazil with confederate Peru. That information of the road was initially estimated to outgo $507 million, but Peru ended up paying $1.25 billion.

Rojas astatine 1 constituent work parts of the grounds from Jorge Barata, a erstwhile Odebrecht enforcement successful Peru, who told prosecutors that the erstwhile president called him up to 3 times aft leaving bureau to request that helium beryllium paid. Toledo lowered his regard and looked astatine his hands arsenic Rojas work the expletive-laden remarks that Barata recounted to prosecutors.

Toledo has denied the accusations against him. His attorney, Roberto Siu, told reporters aft the proceeding that they volition entreaty the sentence.

The erstwhile president connected Monday often smirked, and astatine times laughed, peculiarly erstwhile the justice mentioned multimillion-dollar sums cardinal to the lawsuit arsenic good arsenic erstwhile she struggled to work transcripts and different grounds successful the case. Throughout the hearing, helium besides leaned to his close to talk with his attorney.

In contrast, past week, helium asked the tribunal with a breached dependable and his hands together, arsenic if helium were praying, to fto him instrumentality location citing his age, crab and bosom problems.

Toledo, 78, was archetypal arrested successful 2019 astatine his location successful California, wherever helium had been surviving since 2016, erstwhile helium returned to Stanford University, his alma mater, arsenic a visiting student to survey acquisition successful Latin America. He was initially held successful solitary confinement astatine a region jailhouse eastbound of San Francisco but was released to location apprehension successful 2020 due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic and his deteriorating intelligence health.

He was extradited to Peru successful 2022 aft a tribunal of appeals denied a situation to his extradition and helium surrendered to authorities. He has since remained nether preventive detention.

Rojas said Toledo volition get recognition for clip served starting successful April 2023. He volition service the remainder of his condemnation astatine a situation connected the outskirts of Lima that was built specifically to location erstwhile Peruvian presidents.

Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez aft the proceeding described the condemnation arsenic “historic” and said it shows Peruvians that “crimes and corruption are punished.”

Odebrecht rebranded arsenic Novonor successful 2020.