Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, under investigation for corruption and money laundering in the context of the Odebrecht scandal, was imprisoned Sunday evening in a prison in Lima after being extradited from the United States.
The ex-president was “placed at the disposal of the Penitentiary Institute, which will take him to Barbadillo prison, where he will be placed in pre-trial detention for 18 months”, indicated on Twitter the judiciary, which rejected house arrest requested by the accused.
Mr. Toledo, 77 years old and suffering from cancer according to his lawyers, arrived by plane from Los Angeles in the custody of Interpol agents.
The transfer to Barbadillo prison, where former presidents Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) and Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) are also held, was carried out at night by helicopter.
Upon his arrival in Lima, the authorities carried out a medical examination and he appeared before a judge at a hearing to verify his identity.
He appeared exhausted in footage broadcast by the Judiciary TV channel.
In 2019, the ex-president was arrested in the United States for corruption in Peru. He had since been under house arrest at his home in California with an electronic bracelet.
The former strongman of Peru, who ruled from 2001 to 2006, is suspected of having received tens of millions of dollars from the Brazilian construction group Odebrecht, at the heart of a vast scandal in South America, in exchange for obtaining public contracts.
The prosecution is seeking a 20-year and 6-month prison sentence for Mr. Toledo, who admitted that Odebrecht paid at least $34 million and that he received part of this sum.
However, he claims his innocence, saying that it was a businessman now deceased, Josef Maiman, who took care of the transactions, according to Peruvian media.
Roberto Su, Mr. Toledo’s lawyer, told reporters in Lima on Sunday that his client had cancer and “many illnesses”, without giving further details.
Outside the terminal, about twenty supporters of the former president gathered with white banners bearing the inscription “accused without evidence”.
Pedro Toledo, one of the nine brothers and sisters of the ex-president, insisted on his poor health and demanded “a fair trial”.
04/24/2023 14:14:37 – Lima (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
