Peru's ex-president has 15-year jail sentence for corruption charges overturned

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Peru’s Constitutional Court has voided the criminal case that led to a 15-year prison sentence for former President Ollanta Humala, who governed from 2011 to 2016. Humala had been convicted in 2025 on money laundering charges tied to alleged illegal campaign financing, and the court’s decision nullifies the proceedings against him. Local media cited by the BBC said he is expected to leave Barbadillo Prison in Lima.

Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were found guilty in the same case. Prosecutors had accused them of receiving $3 million from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht for Humala’s 2011 campaign and $200,000 from Venezuela’s then-leader Hugo Chávez for his 2006 campaign. Both denied wrongdoing and argued they were being politically targeted. After the ruling, Humala’s lawyer, Julio Espinoza Goyena, said on social media that the court found the campaign contributions did not amount to money laundering and that the case should be definitively dismissed.

The case formed part of the wider Odebrecht corruption scandal, which has implicated political figures across Latin America. The BBC notes that Humala was the first of four Peruvian presidents investigated in connection with the company. Alejandro Toledo was sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison over bribes from Odebrecht, while Alan García died by suicide in 2019 as he faced arrest and had denied accusations. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has also faced scrutiny over Odebrecht-linked payments, which he says were legal.

Humala, a former army officer, first rose to prominence during a brief rebellion against Alberto Fujimori in 2000. His legal difficulties began after Odebrecht admitted in 2016 to paying bribes to officials and parties in the region.