A Peruvian court has sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for their involvement in a far-reaching corruption scandal tied to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The couple was found guilty of money laundering for accepting illegal contributions from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government to finance Humala’s 2006 and 2011 presidential campaigns.
Humala, 62, was taken into custody immediately after the verdict and transported to a police detention facility. His legal team has stated their intention to appeal the conviction. Judge Nayko Coronado, who delivered the ruling, also issued an arrest warrant for Heredia, who did not attend the sentencing and instead sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Lima. Following diplomatic discussions, Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed she was granted safe passage to Brazil with her son.
The ruling marks a significant development in the Odebrecht scandal, which has implicated four former Peruvian presidents. Humala, a former army officer who served from 2011 to 2016, was the first among them to stand trial. Prosecutors had pushed for a 20-year sentence for Humala and 26 years for Heredia, accusing them of accepting $3 million in illicit funds from Odebrecht for the 2011 campaign and another $200,000 from then-Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for the failed 2006 bid. Heredia was also found guilty of concealing real estate transactions linked to the illicit funds.
Both Humala and Heredia have consistently denied the charges. During the hearing, Humala maintained that the verdict was politically motivated and vowed to continue the legal battle to clear his name.
The Odebrecht scandal is considered one of the largest foreign bribery cases in modern history. In 2016, the company admitted to paying over $788 million in bribes across multiple countries, including at least $29 million to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014, to secure public contracts.
The fallout from the scandal has shaken Peru’s political establishment. Former President Alan Garcia died by suicide in 2019 as police arrived to arrest him. Alejandro Toledo, who governed from 2001 to 2006, was sentenced last year to over 20 years in prison for accepting bribes. Investigations into Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, president from 2016 to 2018, remain ongoing.
Keiko Fujimori, who lost the 2011 runoff to Humala, also spent 16 months in pre-trial detention over alleged links to Odebrecht, underscoring the scandal’s broad reach across Peru’s political spectrum.
