Peru’s Ex-President Ollanta Humala and Wife Sentenced to 15 Years for Money Laundering

Peru’s Ex-President Ollanta Humala and Wife Sentenced to 15 Years for Money Laundering

Prosecutors stated that Mr Humala and his wife, co-founders of the Nationalist Party, accepted $3m in illegal contributions from Odebrecht, which they used to finance the 2011 presidential campaign.

RMN News Report

Lima, Peru – Peru’s former president, Ollanta Humala, and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have been found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison by a court in Lima. The court determined that they accepted illegal funds to finance Mr Humala’s election campaigns. 

Specifically, the couple was found to have accepted illegal contributions from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht for the 2011 campaign, and $200,000 from the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez for the 2006 campaign. 

Prosecutors stated that Mr Humala and his wife, co-founders of the Nationalist Party, accepted $3m in illegal contributions from Odebrecht, which they used to finance the 2011 presidential campaign.

While Mr Humala was present in court when Judge Nayko Coronado passed sentence, he has since been taken to Barbadillo prison. Two other former Peruvian leaders, Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo, are also being held there.

Unlike her husband, Nadine Heredia was not present for the sentencing. She had entered the Brazilian embassy along with the couple’s son before an arrest warrant could be executed. Brazil offered her asylum, and the Peruvian government stated it would honour the 1954 asylum convention to grant both Heredia and her son safe passage. Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed that Ms Heredia had arrived in the capital, Brasilia, and would travel on to Sao Paulo.

Mr Humala’s lawyer, Wilfredo Pedraza, said he would appeal against the conviction. Mr Pedraza also described the 15-year sentence as “excessive”. Prosecutors had initially requested longer sentences, seeking 20 years for Mr Humala and 25 and a half years for Ms Heredia. The couple has consistently maintained that they are the victims of political persecution.

Mr Humala is the first of four Peruvian presidents to be investigated in connection with the Odebrecht scandal. The Brazilian company admitted to bribing Latin American government officials and political parties with hundreds of millions of dollars to secure business. 

Other former Peruvian presidents implicated include Alejandro Toledo, who was sentenced to over 20 years for taking $35m in bribes, Alan García, who died by suicide as he faced arrest over similar allegations, and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who faced impeachment after Odebrecht payments to him emerged. The investigation related to the scandal is ongoing.

Mr Humala is a former army officer who first gained national attention by leading a military rebellion in 2000. He ran for president in 2006 on a platform inspired by Hugo Chávez, losing to Alan García. In 2011, he adopted a more moderate platform, emulating Brazil’s then-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and defeated Keiko Fujimori to win the presidency. 

His popularity later suffered due to violent social conflicts and loss of congressional support. His legal troubles began shortly after his term ended in 2016. A judge ordered the couple’s pre-trial detention a year later; they were released after a year, but investigations continued, culminating in the recent verdict.