MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former Peruvian President Toledo gets 20 years in prison for corruption

If Monday's conviction is upheld, Toledo, 78, would not be eligible to leave jail until the early 2040s

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was sentenced Monday to over 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal in which he was found to have received US$ 35 million in bribes for the construction by the Brazilian company of a road linking the two countries. The 78-year-old Toledo was deemed guilty of money laundering as well and disenfranchised for three years.

“He colluded with interested individuals such as Odebrecht so that, through a bribe of 35 million dollars, the Brazilian company was awarded the tender for the construction of sections 2 and 3 of the Interoceanic highway, causing damage to the State,” the Peruvian Judiciary explained on X.

Toledo thus became the second former Peruvian president to be convicted of corruption, after the late Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) was handed down three such sentences in 2009 in addition to another for crimes against humanity. But Toledo retained the privilege of being the first ex-head of state to be sentenced in the Lava Jato operation involving Odebrecht in over 10 Latin American countries.

Judge Inés Roja Contreras, of the Second National Collegiate Criminal Court, decided to impose nine years in prison for the crime of corruption and 11 years and six months for the crime of money laundering. According to the ruling, Israeli businessman Josef Maiman was in charge of channeling the money that Odebrecht was to deliver to Toledo for his government's projects.

“As the first administrative authority of the entire State, Toledo had to protect and watch over the proper functioning of the administration and the patrimonial interests of the public administration, in the area of public contracting,” explained Roja. “He had the duty to act with absolute neutrality, political, economic or any other kind of impartiality in the performance of his duties, showing independence to his links with individuals, political parties or institutions,” she added.

“Having demonstrated a series or a string of irregularities, an unusual interference, an acceleration of the process, and the direct or indirect intervention of Toledo in the process, he has carried out the typical conduct of breach of duty, defrauding the State,” the magistrate underlined.

Before the ruling was announced, the defendant asked the judges to let him “cure or die” at home given his cancer and heart problems. Toledo's counselor Roberto Su announced that Monday's ruling would be appealed, in addition to requesting house arrest in the meantime.