Former President of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, has been sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison for corruption and money laundering.
A court in Peru found that Toledo, who served as president from 2001 to 2006, accepted $35 million in bribes from the Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht. The bribes were in exchange for granting the company a contract to build a road in southern Peru.
Judge Inés Rojas, who delivered the verdict, criticized Toledo for betraying the trust of the Peruvian people. She stated that he had been entrusted with managing public finances and ensuring the proper use of resources. However, instead of protecting the country’s funds, Toledo “defrauded the state,” according to the judge’s remarks.
Toledo, now 78, was arrested in California five years ago, where he had been living and working for many years. He was extradited to Peru in 2023 to face charges related to the Odebrecht bribery scandal. Despite the verdict, Toledo has denied all the allegations against him. During the court proceedings, he was seen smirking and laughing, particularly while the judge was speaking.
The Odebrecht scandal has had widespread implications across Latin America, as the company admitted to paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure government contracts. Other Peruvian leaders have also been implicated in the case.
In 2019, former president Alan García tragically took his own life as police arrived at his home to arrest him on similar bribery charges. Additionally, former presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala are still under investigation in connection with the scandal.
