The U.S. State Department has approved the extradition of former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Peru’s attorney general said on Twitter. Toledo was arrested by US police at the request of Peru in July 2019 and is under house arrest in the state of California. He is accused of corruption in Peru.
In September 2021, a federal court in California had already authorized Toledo’s extradition to his home country, which wants to prosecute him for his alleged involvement in a major bribery scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. However, the final decision on returning Toledo to Peru rested with the US government. So he would have agreed.
Brazilian construction group Odebrecht spent a total of $788 million over a decade in a dozen countries in the region to buy off lucrative government contracts. The scandal came to light in 2014. Former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 for accepting bribes.
Toledo, who was president of Peru from 2001 to 2006, would have received a payment of 20 million dollars (17.1 million euros) from Odebrecht. In return, he would have awarded the company the construction of the highway that now connects Peru with Brazil. The former president denies the allegations.
Former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, who was deposed by parliament in December, is also accused of corruption. Since Castillo’s ouster, the South American country has been facing its biggest unrest in decades. Dozens of people have been killed in protests against the government and for Castillo’s release in recent months.
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