A Peruvian court on Thursday handed down a 15-year prison sentence to former President Ollanta Humala after finding him guilty of laundering millions in illicit campaign funds linked to the notorious Odebrecht bribery network.
His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also convicted and received an identical 15-year sentence for her role in orchestrating the scheme.
According to the court, Humala’s Nationalist Party received large undisclosed sums from Odebrecht in 2011, enabling him to clinch victory over rival Keiko Fujimori and ascend to the presidency. Prosecutors successfully argued that the illegal funding severely distorted the electoral process and undermined Peru’s democratic integrity.
The sentencing marks a dramatic fall from grace for the former army officer and adds to a growing list of Peruvian leaders engulfed by the Odebrecht scandal. Humala becomes the second former president jailed in connection with the Brazilian company’s expansive graft scheme and the fourth to face formal charges.
The ruling comes after a multi-year investigation that began in 2016 and a three-year-long trial that featured over 200 witnesses and troves of financial records. The case is part of a sweeping anti-corruption drive in Latin America that has seen powerful politicians and business leaders exposed for accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for lucrative government contracts.
Odebrecht, which has since rebranded as Novonor, admitted to paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes across the region, triggering widespread political upheaval.
Humala and Heredia have both denied wrongdoing and are expected to appeal the verdict.
