US authorizes extradition to Peru of ex-president Alejandro Toledo

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo in New York on May 24, 2017. He is accused of corruption.

© Mary Altaffer/AP

Text by: RFI Follow

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Alejandro Toledo, who led Peru from 2001 to 2006, is accused in his country of corruption, influence peddling and money laundering.

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The extradition procedure could be completed within two months.

In any case, this is the timeframe desired by the Peruvian authorities.

The Public Ministry of Peru, a constitutional body, said on Twitter that it was still in the “

”  authorities

 with a view to extradition.

The Fiscalía de la Nación, como autoridad central en materia de extraditions, informed that it had become aware that the Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos de América conceded the extradition of Alejandro Toledo Manríque, por los delitos de colusión y lavado de activos pic. twitter.com/aD0QGEEicT

— Ministerio Público (@FiscaliaPeru) February 22, 2023

Aged 76, Alejandro Toledo, president from 2001 to 2006, has resided in the United States since the end of his mandate.

He returned to Peru in 2011 and 2016 to run for president, but was defeated.

Arrested in 2019 at the request of Peru, he has since been under house arrest in California, and wears an electronic bracelet.

The international Odebrecht scandal

The former head of state is suspected of having received tens of millions of dollars in bribes from the

.

This Brazilian company specializing in public works is at the heart of a gigantic corruption case across the continent.

In exchange for these bribes, the company would have been favoured, as elsewhere, in obtaining public contracts.

The former president must be remanded in custody upon his arrival on Peruvian soil.

The public prosecutor requested twenty years and six months in prison against him for these offenses of collusion and money laundering.

The latter admitted that Odebrecht paid at least 34 million dollars and that he received part of this sum.

However, he claims his innocence, saying that it was a businessman now deceased, Josef Maiman, who took care of the transactions, according to Peruvian media.

Alejandro Toledo is on a list of former Peruvian heads of state prosecuted or convicted for corruption, including the last elected president,

.

► To read also: Odebrecht, the scandal that shakes Latin America

(

AFP)

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