19:00 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Sep. 1.
The United States will return to Peru US$686,000 allegedly illegally obtained by former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) from the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht, the
U.S. Department of Justice reported.
"The Department of Justice is sharing approximately US$686,000 in forfeited criminal proceeds to the Republic of Peru linked to the corruption and bribery of former Peruvian President Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (Toledo) by Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht), a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate," the entity said
in a statement on Wednesday.
Toledo Manrique is under house arrest in California waiting for Washington D.C. to decide whether or not to extradite him to Peru.
"This case is an important example of the international cooperation necessary to address corruption abroad where illicit proceeds are brought to the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
The money was seized from a bank account by order of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace.
Peruvian Prosecutor's Office accuses Toledo of having received US$20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to grant it the tender to build the Interoceanic Highway, which connects Peru with Brazil.
Toledo is also accused of crimes of influence peddling, collusion, and money laundering.
Following Peru's extradition request, Toledo was arrested in July 2019 in California, where he lived with his wife, Eliane Karp. He spent seven months in prison, but was placed under house arrest in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2019, Peruvian-Israeli businessman Josef Maiman —a former friend of Toledo— signed a collaboration agreement with Peru's Public Ministry and stated that Odebrecht had transferred US$35 million (not US$20 million) to his accounts as bribes for the ex-president.
Toledo is one of the four former presidents of Peru tarnished by the Odebrecht scandal, which brought members of Brazil's political and business elite behind bars and dragged other figures in Latin American countries.
Former presidents Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018) are also under investigation by the Peruvian Prosecutor's office.
Alan Garcia (1985-1990 and 2006-2011) committed suicide in 2019 in Lima when he was going to be arrested for this case.
(END) AFP/RMCH/JCR/RMB/MVB
Published: 9/1/2022