LIMA: A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced ex-president Ollanta Humala to 15 years in prison in a vast corruption case involving Brazilian construction group Odebrecht and bribes paid to politicians.

The court found the 62-year-old guilty of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government for two presidential campaigns.

Humala, a former army officer who led the country from 2011 to 2016, in 2022 became the first ex-president of Peru to go on trial in the Odebrecht corruption scandal that has also seen three other former presidents charged.

Two-term leader Alan Garcia committed suicide in 2019 when police came to his house to arrest him, while Alejandro Toledo (2001-06) was sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison for accepting multi-million-dollar bribes in exchange for government contracts.

Investigations continue into the fourth ex-president implicated, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018). Prosecutors had sought a 20-year prison term for Humala and 26 years for his wife and co-accused Nadine Heredia, for allegedly accepting $3 million in illegal contributions.

Both were also accused of “concealment of real estate purchases” made with some of the money. Humala’s legal team said he would appeal the sentence.

Odebrecht admitted in 2016 having paid at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.

Leftist Humala came to the presidency in 2011 after beating rightwing candidate Keiko Fujimori in a runoff election. Fujimori herself spent 13 months of detention in a case linked to Odebrecht.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2025