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 that Toledo accepted $35 million (£27 million) in bribes from the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, which secured a contract to build a road in southern Peru.
Toledo, 78, served as president from 2001 to 2006. He was arrested in California five years ago, where he had resided for many years, and was extradited to Peru last year.
Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, admitted to paying millions in bribes to officials across Latin America and the U.S. to win government contracts.
Judge Inés Rojas, speaking to the Associated Press, stated that Peruvians had “trusted” Toledo as their leader, responsible for managing public funds and ensuring their proper use. Instead, she said, he had “defrauded the state.”
Toledo denied the charges and reportedly smirked and laughed during parts of Monday’s proceedings, particularly when the judge was speaking.
The Odebrecht scandal has implicated several former Peruvian presidents. In 2019, Alan García, another ex-president, took his own life when police arrived at his home to arrest him on bribery charges. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala, two other former presidents, are also under investigation in connection with the case.
