Alejandro Toledo, the former president of Peru, was sentenced to 20 years and 6 months in prison on corruption and money laundering charges stemming from his acceptance of bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. This ruling, delivered on October 21, marks the first significant conviction related to the widespread “Car Wash” corruption scandal that has implicated multiple countries across Latin America.
At 78 years old, Toledo, an economist with a Ph.D. from Stanford University, served as Peru’s president from 2001 to 2006. Prosecutors allege that he accepted $35 million in bribes from Odebrecht, which enabled the company to secure a contract for a transnational highway project linking Peru’s southern coast to the Amazon region of western Brazil.
Throughout a year-long trial, Toledo maintained his innocence against the accusations of money laundering and conspiracy. Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, admitted in 2016 to bribing officials in several countries to obtain public contracts, which positioned it at the center of one of the largest corruption scandals in Latin America.
Last week, Toledo requested to serve his sentence at home, citing his ongoing battle with cancer. Since last year, he has been incarcerated in a small prison in Lima, Peru’s capital, with the verdict being announced in a room within the facility.
Peruvian authorities had previously sought his extradition due to his involvement in this case, leading to his arrest in the United States in 2019.
