Peru ex-president and first lady chop 15-year jail term

BBC News

16-04-2025

Peru former president Ollanta Humala, dey guilty of money laundering and dem don sentence am go prison for 15 years.
Na court for di capital, Lima tok say e collect illegal money from di Venzulan president dat time, Hugo Chávez and from di Brazillian construction company Odebrecht to pay for im election campaigns for 2006 and 2011.
Humala lawyer tok say e go appeal against di conviction.
Im wife Nadine Heredia bin also dey found guilty of money laundering and dey sentenced to 15 years for jail.
But dem don grant her safe passage to enta Brazil afta she seek asylum for di Brazilian embassy.
Humala lawyer say e go appeal against di conviction.
But unlike her husband, Heredia bin no dey court wen Judge Nayko Coronado bin pass sentence. She bin don already enta di Brazillian embassy togeda wit dia son bifor dem fit even execute arrest warrant.
Brazil bin grant am asylum and di Peruvian goment say dem go honour di 1954 assylum convention to give Heredia and her son safe passage.
Meanwhile, dem don carry di former president, 62 go Narbadillo prison wia dem don alreadi keep two former leaders, Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo.
Humala na di first of four Peruvial presidents wey dem go investigate in connection wit di Odebrcht kasala.
Toledo wey bin hold office from 2001 to 2006 bin dey sentenced last year to ova 20 years for prison say im collect $35m (£26m) bribes from di company.
Alan Garcia, wey be di president from 1985 to 1990 and 2006 to 2011 bin kill imself for 2019 as e bin dey face arrest on top accuse say Odebrecht bribe am. E bin deny di accuse.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wey bin dey office from 2016 to 2018 bin face impeachment proceedings afta e comot say Odebrecht bin pay am millions of dollars for im previous goment role.
Di investigation still dey go on. Kuczynski don maintain say di payment no dey illegal.
Prosecutors tok say Humala and im wife, wey e follow collabo wit to form di Nationalist Party, bin collect $3m illegal contributions from di company wey dem use finance im 2011 presidential campaign.
Dem also dey accused say dem collect $200,000 from Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez to run di 2006 campaign.
Di couple don tanda tok say dem be victims of political persecution.
Humala lawyer, Wilfredi Pedraza also tok say dia 15-year sentence dey too much.
Prosecution bin ask for 20 years for di former president and 25 and half years for Heredia.
Who be Ollanta Humala?
Humala na former army officer wey fight against di Maoist Shining Path rebels. E first bicom popular nationally for 2000 wen e bin lead one short milisary rebellion against di then president Alberto Fujimori.
For 2006, e bin run for president on platform wey bin dey inspired by di socialist revolution of Chávez from Venezuela.
Alan García, wey be Humala election rivals bin warn voters say make dem "no allow Peru turn anoda Venezuela" and win di presidency.
For 2011, Humala come run more moderate platform wey take from di policies of di then Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and e use am beat im right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori wey be di eldest daughter of Alberto Fujimori.
Social kasala sharparly spoil im popularity, and e lose di support of many members of Congress.
Im legal kasla start shortly afta im finish im term for 2016 wen Odebrecht admit say dem bribe Latin goment officials and political parties wit hundreds of millions of dollars so dem go fit win business.
Prosecutors accuse Humala and im wife say dem collect millions from Odebrecht togeda wit di illegal funding from Chávez to take fund di 2006 presidential campaign.
One year later, judge bin order make di couple dey placed for pre-trial detention. Dem release dem afta a year but investigations into dia mata still kontinu wey lead to today judgement.