Peru’s former president Ollanta Humala was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of accepting illicit campaign funding from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
His wife, Nadine Heredia, received an identical sentence. Shortly after the ruling, Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed she had entered the Brazilian embassy in Lima and was granted diplomatic asylum, citing health concerns. She will be allowed safe passage to travel to Brazil with her youngest son.
Ollanta Humala, who served from 2011 to 2016, becomes the latest in a string of former Peruvian leaders to be imprisoned for corruption-related charges.
The court found that Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia received illegal contributions during his presidential bids in 2006 and 2011.
The funds allegedly came from Odebrecht – now known as Novonor – which has admitted to decades-long bribery schemes throughout Latin America.
Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence for Ollanta Humala and 26 years for Nadine Heredia. Both were accused of funnelling millions through the Nationalist Party to fund election campaigns.
They denied the charges and plan to appeal after the full ruling is issued on 29 April.
The couple’s legal troubles began in 2016, shortly after Ollanta Humala left office. A year later, they were detained during a preliminary investigation.
While released in 2018, the judicial probe continued, culminating in the verdict this week.
Nadine Heredia’s legal team noted she had been refused prior requests to leave Peru for cancer treatment. Brazilian officials have not disclosed further details about the asylum conditions.
Ollanta Humala will serve his sentence at a police base that has housed other former Peruvian presidents. Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo are currently imprisoned there, while Alberto Fujimori was released in 2023.
The Lava Jato investigation has ensnared leaders across the region. In 2019, ex-president Alan García died by suicide as police attempted to arrest him over alleged Odebrecht-related bribery.
Odebrecht’s executives have testified that nearly every major presidential campaign in Peru over a 30-year span received funding from the company.
