Latest news with #OllantaHumala
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Vizcarra becomes latest ex-president imprisoned in Peru
LIMA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A Peruvian judge ordered the pre-trial detention for former president Martin Vizcarra on Wednesday for allegedly taking bribes while he was governor more than a decade ago. At the hearing, Judge Jorge Chavez ordered Vizcarra to be held for five months, making him the fifth former Peruvian president to be jailed in recent years. Vizcarra is accused of taking bribes equivalent to $640,000 from construction companies in exchange for public works in the Moquegua region between 2011 and 2014. Vizcarra is now likely headed to a police base in Lima specially built to house former presidents. The prison is already busy, with former Presidents Alejandro Toledo, Ollanta Humala and Pedro Castillo currently held there. Its first inmate was former President Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009 for human rights violations. Fujimori was pardoned in late 2023, sparking protests around the country. The former leader died of cancer the following year. Vizcarra, who has denied the charges and claimed to be a victim of political persecution, came to power in 2018 after his predecessor resigned. He was removed from office by Congress two years later when the investigations against him began. A previous judge had rejected the prosecutor's request detain Vizcarra in June, but the public ministry appealed the ruling, dubbing Vizcarra a flight risk. Vizcarra had also planned to run in the 2026 presidential election. Vizcarra's lawyer said he would appeal the decision. The prosecution has requested up to 15 years in prison for the former president. Peru's politics have faced constant turbulence and upheaval, cycling through six presidents since 2018 amid corruption scandals, resignations and removals.
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
