A Corrupt Former President Returns to Peru

 

The End of the Road

PERU

Peru’s former President Alejandro Toledo surrendered to US authorities over the weekend and is expected to be extradited to Peru where he faces charges of corruption and money laundering, Agence France-Presse reported.

Toledo, who served as Peru’s president from 2001 to 2006, is wanted for alleged involvement in a wide-ranging scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

Peruvian prosecutors have accused him of taking millions of dollars from Odebrecht in exchange for favorable treatment during the bidding process for public works contracts. Toledo denies wrongdoing and claims that the charges against him are politically motivated.

He has been living in the US for a number of years and has fought extradition to Peru for nearly four years through various legal maneuvers.

If he is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

The “Car Wash” scandal rocked governments across Latin America, with Odebrecht acknowledging in 2016 that it paid around $800 million in bribes to win lucrative contracts across the region, according to the New York Times.

Dozens of Latin American politicians and business leaders have been jailed for their involvement in the scandal, and Toledo is the third former Peruvian president to be implicated, along with Ollanta Humala and Alan García – the latter committed suicide in 2019 as police were about to arrest him.

Now, Toledo’s extradition is regarded as a win for anti-corruption efforts in Peru and proof that even high-ranking officials are not above the law.

Even so, it comes at a period of political unrest in the country, which has had seven presidents in the past seven years and has been roiled by protests since the impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo in December.