Money laundering: Peru’s ex-president, first lady jailed for 15 years

Peru’s former president, Ollanta Humala, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of money laundering by a court in Lima. 

His wife, Nadine Heredia, who co-founded the Nationalist Party alongside him, was also handed a 15-year sentence after the same conviction.

The court found that Humala accepted illegal funds from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 election campaigns. 

Prosecutors had pushed for a 20-year sentence for Humala and 26 and a half years for Heredia, but the court delivered a slightly reduced penalty in its ruling on Tuesday after more than three years of legal proceedings.

“Humala attended the verdict in person while his wife heard it via video link.” Both have denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial.

Heredia, who has since been granted asylum by Brazil, will be allowed safe passage to travel there with her son, according to Peru’s foreign ministry.

Humala, a 62-year-old former army officer, rose to prominence in 2000 when he led a short-lived rebellion against then-president Alberto Fujimori. 

He first ran for the presidency in 2006 with the backing of then-Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. At the time, prosecutors alleged that Chávez illegally funded his campaign. 

During the heated election race, rival candidate Alan García warned voters “not to let Peru turn into another Venezuela.”

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In 2011, Humala made another presidential bid, presenting himself as a more moderate leader and pledging to follow the example of then-Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

His shift in tone helped him defeat right-wing opponent Keiko Fujimori, but his presidency was marred early on by violent social conflicts and waning support in Congress.

Legal troubles began shortly after his presidency ended in 2016, when Odebrecht admitted to paying massive bribes across Latin America to secure government contracts. 

Peruvian prosecutors accused Humala and Heredia of receiving millions from the firm. A judge later ordered their pre-trial detention in 2017, though they were released after a year. The lengthy investigation continued and ultimately led to Tuesday’s long-awaited verdict.

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