Peru’s former president, Alejandro Toledo, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years and six months in prison for corruption and money laundering. The ruling stems from his involvement in a massive bribery scheme linked to the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.
Toledo, who led the country from 2001 to 2006, was found to have accepted $35 million in bribes. In return, Odebrecht secured contracts to build two stretches of the Interoceanic Highway in southern Peru.
Judge Inés Rojas declared that Peruvians had placed their trust in Toledo, but instead of safeguarding public funds, he chose to betray that trust and deceive the state, as reported by the Associated Press.
This case is part of a broader corruption scandal that has rocked Latin America. Two other former Peruvian presidents, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala, are also under investigation for their ties to Odebrecht. A fourth former leader, Alan García, took his own life in 2019 while facing similar allegations.
Odebrecht’s corruption network was vast and sophisticated. The company used an encrypted payment system, which U.S. officials labeled a “Department of Bribery,” to distribute bribes to politicians, officials, lawyers, and bankers across Brazil and other nations, according to the BBC.
In 2017, U.S. courts fined Odebrecht $2.6 billion for paying roughly $800 million in bribes to secure public contracts in 12 countries. The fallout has been felt far beyond Peru. In Panama, 35 individuals, including two former presidents and six ex-ministers, have faced trial for their roles in the scandal.
Records uncovered in a 2023 investigation by OCCRP and its partners revealed that Odebrecht also funneled millions of dollars from a Central American Bank for Economic Integration loan to pay off officials in Guatemala.
Toledo’s sentencing marks a significant step in one of the largest corruption cases in modern Latin American history. The ripple effects continue as authorities pursue justice in multiple countries.