Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

First Peruvian ex-president on trial for Odebrecht scandal

Peru's former President Ollanta Humala is accompanied by his wife Nadine Heredia as he speaks to reporters at the entrance of their home after they were released from prison in Lima, Peru, April 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Joel Alonzo, File) Peru's former President Ollanta Humala is accompanied by his wife Nadine Heredia as he speaks to reporters at the entrance of their home after they were released from prison in Lima, Peru, April 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Joel Alonzo, File)
Share
LIMA, Peru -

A Peruvian judge started on Monday a trial for corruption against former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, both accused of money laundering in a scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht that has stained the highest political leaders in this South American country over the last two decades.

Humala is the first former leader of Peru standing trial in Latin America's biggest graft scandal, although three other ex-presidents have been involved in the case.

Prosecutors accused Humala and his wife of receiving over $3 million from Odebrecht for his presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Both denied any wrongdoing.

Humala is a former army colonel who lost the 2006 election but won five years later. Prosecutors seek a 20-year sentence for the former leader and 26 years for his wife Nadine Heredia, who's been accused of having used the money to buy some properties.

Odebrecht admitted in a U.S. Justice Department plea agreement to paying $800 million in bribes to high-ranking officials around the region in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

The trial is being done virtually because of the pandemic.

Humala and his wife were arrested in 2017 as a preventative measure but released the next year. Now, the former first lady is under house arrest and the ex-president is free, although he needs to go to a court every month to report and sign before a judge.

The Odebrecht corruption scandal has shaken Peru's politics, with nearly every living former president now under investigation.

Former President Alejandro Toledo, in office from 2001 to 2006, has also been accused of illegally receiving money from Odebrecht and who's facing an extradition process from the U.S. Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who left office in 2018, is under house arrest for similar charges.

Three other former Peruvian presidents have been involved in the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Former leader Alan Garcia, in office from 2006 to 2011, shot himself in the head in 2019 as authorities arrived at his home to arrest him in connection with the Odebrecht probe.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.