A major legal development in Peru has seen former President Ollanta Humala walk free after the country’s Constitutional Court overturned his conviction and 15-year prison sentence in a money laundering case tied to the Odebrecht corruption scandal.
Humala, who served as Peru’s president between 2011 and 2016, was released from a police detention facility in Lima on Friday evening, with supporters gathering outside to celebrate the court decision.
The ruling brings an end, for now, to Humala’s imprisonment after he and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were convicted last year over allegations involving illegal campaign contributions from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government.
Speaking shortly after his release, the former president said the case against him was politically motivated.
“We have been victims of political and judicial persecution”, Humala told reporters.
Humala, a former army officer, was the first Peruvian ex-president prosecuted in connection with the Odebrecht scandal, which has implicated several former leaders in the country.
His wife, Heredia, who received a similar conviction, sought asylum in Brazil following the ruling and remains there.
The Constitutional Court’s decision, published on Thursday, declared Humala’s sentence invalid and overturned the judgment that had sent him to prison.
The case was part of a wider investigation into Odebrecht, which admitted to paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes across Latin America to secure government contracts. In Peru, the company acknowledged making illegal payments to officials between 2005 and 2014.
The corruption scandal has continued to affect Peru’s political establishment, with multiple former presidents facing investigations or legal proceedings linked to the construction giant.
