The former president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Third Collegiate Court of the National Superior Court, together with his wife, Nadine Heredia, for aggravated money laundering. The accusations against the couple center on the illegal contributions received from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and the government of Hugo Chávez during their presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Judge Nayko Coronado revealed an organized pattern of donor forgery and fictitious contracts, and emphasized the forcefulness of the testimony of those who denied donations to the Nationalist Party. Humala, who looked distraught, was transferred to Barbadillo prison, where he will be housed with former presidents Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo.
Despite Nadine Heredia's absence from the trial due to health problems, her whereabouts became known when the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that she had sought diplomatic asylum at the Brazilian Embassy in Lima, invoking the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum. The Peruvian judiciary also imposed a fine of 10 million soles (2.7 million dollars) as civil reparations and other penalties against associates such as Ilán Heredia, brother of the former First Lady, and various assets of the Nationalist Party. With their lawyers prepared to appeal, the full ruling will be read by the end of April, marking another tumultuous chapter for Peru's political leadership.
Read the full news article on The Country.
