Peru's Former Leader Alejandro Toledo Convicted in Odebrecht Scandal

Alejandro Toledo, former President of Peru, has been sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison following a conviction for accepting bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. His sentencing is the first high-profile conviction connected to the expansive Lava Jato corruption scandal in Peru.

Toledo, aged 78 and a Stanford-educated economist, led Peru from 2001 to 2006. Prosecutors accused him of accepting $35 million in bribes from Odebrecht for awarding them the contract to build a crucial road linking Peru's southern coast to Brazil's Amazon region. Despite his denial of money-laundering and collusion charges, the trial culminated in his conviction.

Amid Toledo's legal challenges, he pled to serve his sentence at home due to his ongoing battle with cancer. Meanwhile, the expansive graft investigation continues to unfold, implicating other former Peruvian presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Ollanta Humala. Odébrecht, rebranded as Novonor, had previously confessed to bribing officials in multiple countries to secure lucrative public contracts.