Peruvian court sentences former President Humala and wife to 15 years
for money laundering
[April 16, 2025]
By FRANKLIN BRICEŃO
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President
Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for
laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to
finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns.
The judges of the National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia
received almost $3 million in illegal contributions for these campaigns
from Odebrecht and the government of then-Venezuelan President Hugo
Chávez (1999-2013).
Humala's wife requested asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Lima, Peru's
Foreign Ministry said Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement, the foreign ministry added that Heredia entered the
Brazilian embassy in the morning and requested asylum under the 1954
Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, to which both Peru and Brazil are
signatories.
Heredia’s brother, Ilán Heredia, was also sentenced to 12 years in
prison for money laundering in the same case.
Humala came to power in 2011 after defeating right-wing politician Keiko
Fujimori in the second round.
Nayko Coronado, one of the court’s three judges, ordered the convicted
individuals to be jailed immediately. The former president, the only one
present for the verdict, was surrounded by police and escorted from the
courtroom.
Dressed in a business suit, tie, and glasses, the 62-year-old retired
military officer Humala was observed writing and speaking on his cell
phone during the session. His wife was not in attendance, with the
defense stating she followed the proceedings online due to ill health.
The court’s decision means both will remain incarcerated until July 28,
2039.
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Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala talks on his cell phone
before leaving the courtroom in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, April 15, 2025,
after being sentenced along with his wife to 15 years in prison for
laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant
Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns. (AP Photo/Martin
Mejia)
The verdict makes Humala the third former Peruvian president
imprisoned for corruption in the last two decades. He joins
Alejandro Toledo, sentenced in 2024 to 20 years for Odebrecht-related
crimes, and Alberto Fujimori, who received multiple convictions for
corruption and human rights abuses.
The trial began in 2022, and alongside Humala and his 48-year-old
wife, the court convicted eight others. Both Humala and Heredia were
held in pretrial detention from 2017 to 2018 at the prosecutor’s
request to prevent their flight.
Odebrecht’s 2016 admission of widespread bribery across Latin
America preceded the initial investigations against Humala, which
started in 2015, a year before the company’s revelations.
Most of the presidents who governed Peru since 2001 have faced legal
problems due to their connections with Odebrecht. Toledo is
currently imprisoned, while former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
is under house arrest. Alan García, who served two non-consecutive
terms (1985-1990 and 2006-2011), died by suicide in 2019 as
authorities moved to arrest him in connection with Odebrecht bribes.
Beyond former presidents, prominent figures like former presidential
candidate Keiko Fujimori and numerous ex-governors are also under
investigation.
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