A Peruvian court has sentenced former President Alejandro Toledo to 20 years and six months in prison after finding him guilty of corruption and money laundering.
Toledo, who served as president from 2001 to 2006, was accused of accepting $35 million in bribes from the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht in exchange for granting them a contract to build a highway in southern Peru.
At 78 years old, Toledo was arrested in California five years ago, where he had been living and working for an extended period. He was extradited to Peru in 2023 to face the charges.
Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, has previously admitted to paying millions in bribes to officials across Latin America and the U.S. to secure lucrative government contracts.
During the sentencing, Judge Inés Rojas emphasized that Toledo had betrayed the trust of the Peruvian people, who expected him to manage the country’s finances responsibly, instead defrauding the state. Throughout the trial, Toledo denied the charges and was observed smirking and laughing during court proceedings.
Toledo is not the only former Peruvian leader linked to the Odebrecht scandal. In 2019, former President Alan GarcÃa took his own life as police arrived to arrest him on similar bribery allegations.
Two other former presidents, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala, are also under investigation in connection with the case.
