Peru: Former President Ollanta Humala's conviction in the Odebrecht case overturned
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling overturning the former president's conviction, finding that the funding he received from third parties for his election campaigns did not constitute a crime when the politician, now 64, was a presidential candidate.
Peru's former president, Ollanta Humala, speaks with the press
Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala was released this Friday from a prison in Lima after the court overturned his 15-year sentence for money laundering related to receiving funds from the construction company Odebrecht, AFP journalists reported.
The former military officer had been incarcerated since April 2025 for receiving, according to his conviction, $3 million from the Brazilian construction company for his 2011 campaign, which he won.
Humala, who served as president from 2011 to 2016, was one of four former heads of state from the South American country serving sentences in a prison reserved exclusively for them, located at a police base east of Lima.
"We have been victims of political and judicial persecution (…). I was kidnapped by the state and hitmen from the justice system," he told reporters as he left the small prison facility.
Former first lady Nadine Heredia was convicted in the same case and sought political asylum in Brazil, where she has lived ever since.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that overturned the former president's conviction, finding that the funding he received from third parties for his election campaigns did not constitute a crime when Humala, now 64, was a presidential candidate.
Humala had also received another $200,000 from the Venezuelan regime of Hugo Chávez in 2006, when he lost to Alan García, according to the conviction.
A legal remedy that protects against unlawful detention
Humala had filed a habeas corpus through his attorneys in January, a legal remedy that protects against unlawful detention.
Following the annulment by the Constitutional Court, a criminal court ordered his release on Friday, July 31.
"As a result of the annulment of the entire criminal proceeding," the court ordered "his release today," it reported via social media.
Foreign Minister Carlos Espá described the ruling as a "fair verdict." "I am very pleased" with the court's decision, the minister, who serves under President Keiko Fujimori, Humala's political rival, told the press hours earlier.
Humala's wife, Nadine Heredia, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for money laundering.
World
'El Mencho's' brother pleads guilty to drug trafficking in the US, faces life in prison
Carlos Dominguez
Presidential prison
During his trial, the founder of the Nationalist Party was implicated by Marcelo Odebrecht himself, the former head of the construction company that bore his surname.
The Odebrecht construction company, whose bribery and corruption scandal spread to several Latin American countries, admitted in 2016 to having distributed tens of millions of dollars in bribes and illegal campaign contributions in Peru since the beginning of the 21st century.
According to prosecutors, the scandal also implicated Alan García (2006–2011), who committed suicide in 2019 before he could be arrested and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016–2018), who is still under investigation.
New President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on Tuesday, was also indicted for campaign contributions from Odebrecht and others. She spent more than a year in pretrial detention before her trial was overturned.
LATEST
