Latest news with #OllantaHumala
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peru's former president Ollanta Humala jailed for 15 years over money laundering - as his wife is granted asylum
Peru's former president Ollanta Humala has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for money laundering. His wife Nadine Heredia received the same punishment, but she has been granted asylum after entering the Brazilian embassy in Lima. The couple were found guilty of receiving $3m (£2.3m) in illegal contributions from a Brazilian construction firm called Odebrecht. That cash was used to finance Humala's presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011, with his lawyer describing the sentence as "excessive". Odebrecht previously admitted it had doled out bribes to governments across Latin America to build a vast empire, and it is currently going through bankruptcy. Humala, a 62-year-old retired military officer, was jailed immediately - and the National Superior Court's verdict means he will be behind bars until 2039. He is the third former Peruvian president to be imprisoned for corruption in the past two decades. Alejandro Toledo received a 20-year jail term in 2024 after receiving $35m (£26m) in bribes in exchange for public works contracts. A police base has been specially built to accommodate the country's jailed leaders - and it is likely Humala will serve his sentence there alongside Toledo. His lawyers have vowed to appeal once the final ruling is issued later this month, and argue prosecutors failed to prove that the funds had come from an illegal source. Read more world news: In 2019, former president Alan Garcia shot himself as police descended on his home to make an arrest - also for alleged corruption related to Odebrecht. Former executives said the company had financed almost all presidential candidates in Peru for close to 30 years. Fernando Quintalla, a resident who lives in Lima, said he was "totally displeased" that Humala's wife had been granted asylum. He added: "I believe that the Peruvian population is really upset, extremely upset, with this string of (various) presidents - who since 2000 until now - have been plaguing us with an incredible corruption that has never been seen before in the country."
Sky News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Peru's former president Ollanta Humala jailed for 15 years over money laundering - as his wife is granted asylum
Peru's former president Ollanta Humala has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for money laundering. His wife Nadine Heredia received the same punishment, but she has been granted asylum after entering the Brazilian embassy in Lima. The couple were found guilty of receiving $3m (£2.3m) in illegal contributions from a Brazilian construction firm called Odebrecht. That cash was used to finance Humala's presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011, with his lawyer describing the sentence as "excessive". Odebrecht previously admitted it had doled out bribes to governments across Latin America to build a vast empire, and it is currently going through bankruptcy. Humala, a 62-year-old retired military officer, was jailed immediately - and the National Superior Court's verdict means he will be behind bars until 2039. He is the third former Peruvian president to be imprisoned for corruption in the past two decades. Alejandro Toledo received a 20-year jail term in 2024 after receiving $35m (£26m) in bribes in exchange for public works contracts. A police base has been specially built to accommodate the country's jailed leaders - and it is likely Humala will serve his sentence there alongside Toledo. His lawyers have vowed to appeal once the final ruling is issued later this month, and argue prosecutors failed to prove that the funds had come from an illegal source. In 2019, former president Alan Garcia shot himself as police descended on his home to make an arrest - also for alleged corruption related to Odebrecht. Former executives said the company had financed almost all presidential candidates in Peru for close to 30 years. Fernando Quintalla, a resident who lives in Lima, said he was "totally displeased" that Humala's wife had been granted asylum. He added: "I believe that the Peruvian population is really upset, extremely upset, with this string of (various) presidents - who since 2000 until now - have been plaguing us with an incredible corruption that has never been seen before in the country."
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peru jails ex-president over corruption scandal
Peru jailed a former president for accepting bribes from a Brazilian construction firm, the latest senior politician to be felled by a continent-wide corruption scandal. Ollanta Humala, who led Peru from 2011 to 2016, was found guilty of accepting illicit campaign funds from Odebrecht, which has admitted to handing out bribes for years across Latin America. Humala is the second former Peruvian leader to be jailed over the scandal, known as Operation Car Wash or Lava Jato, but the controversy centered on Brazil, upending the political careers of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his protege Dilma Rousseff, and helping drive anti-establishment anger that propelled the nationalist Jair Bolsonaro to office.
Ammon
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Ammon
Ex-president and wife sentenced to 15 years in jail
Ammon News - Peru's former president, Ollanta Humala, has been found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison.A court in the capital, Lima, said he had accepted illegal funds from the Venezuelan president at the time, Hugo Chávez, and from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to bankroll his election campaigns in 2006 and lawyer said he would appeal against the conviction. His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in jail. However, she has been granted safe passage to Brazil after seeking asylum in the Brazilian embassy. BBC
Express Tribune
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Peru jails former president Humala Ollanta and wife for 15 years
Listen to article Peru's former president Ollanta Humala was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of accepting illicit campaign funding from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. His wife, Nadine Heredia, received an identical sentence. Shortly after the ruling, Peru's foreign ministry confirmed she had entered the Brazilian embassy in Lima and was granted diplomatic asylum, citing health concerns. She will be allowed safe passage to travel to Brazil with her youngest son. Ollanta Humala, who served from 2011 to 2016, becomes the latest in a string of former Peruvian leaders to be imprisoned for corruption-related charges. The court found that Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia received illegal contributions during his presidential bids in 2006 and 2011. The funds allegedly came from Odebrecht – now known as Novonor – which has admitted to decades-long bribery schemes throughout Latin America. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence for Ollanta Humala and 26 years for Nadine Heredia. Both were accused of funnelling millions through the Nationalist Party to fund election campaigns. They denied the charges and plan to appeal after the full ruling is issued on 29 April. The couple's legal troubles began in 2016, shortly after Ollanta Humala left office. A year later, they were detained during a preliminary investigation. While released in 2018, the judicial probe continued, culminating in the verdict this week. Nadine Heredia's legal team noted she had been refused prior requests to leave Peru for cancer treatment. Brazilian officials have not disclosed further details about the asylum conditions. Ollanta Humala will serve his sentence at a police base that has housed other former Peruvian presidents. Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo are currently imprisoned there, while Alberto Fujimori was released in 2023. The Lava Jato investigation has ensnared leaders across the region. In 2019, ex-president Alan García died by suicide as police attempted to arrest him over alleged Odebrecht-related bribery. Odebrecht's executives have testified that nearly every major presidential campaign in Peru over a 30-year span received funding from the company.
