Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for money laundering, according to local media.
The judges of the National Superior Court determined that Humala and Heredia received around $3 million in unlawful campaign contributions from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government to fund Humala’s 2006 and 2011 campaigns.
Heredia managed Humala’s campaign in both elections.
Judge Nayko Coronado, who ordered their immediate detention, stated that multiple activities aimed at laundering money from unlawful sources had been proven.
Following the verdict, Heredia sought political asylum at the Brazilian Embassy in Lima. Peru’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that she had formally submitted the request under the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum.
Heredia’s brother, Ilan Heredia, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison in the same case.
Authorities confirmed that Humala will serve his sentence at Barbadillo Prison in Lima, where several former presidents are also being held.
With this verdict, Humala becomes the third former Peruvian president in two decades to be imprisoned over the Odebrecht scandal. Former President Alejandro Toledo is currently serving a 20-year sentence, while Alberto Fujimori remains behind bars following multiple convictions.
The investigation into Humala and Heredia began in 2015, a year before Odebrecht publicly admitted to widespread bribery across Latin America.
