The constitutional court voided the proceedings against Humala, saying the conduct was not legally defined as money laundering when the campaign contributions were received.
Peru’s Constitutional Court has overturned former president Ollanta Humala’s 15-year money laundering conviction and voided the criminal proceedings against him, leading to his release from prison. Humala had been held at a special detention facility for jailed former Peruvian leaders after he and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were found guilty last year of receiving illegal campaign contributions from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns. The court, in a ruling dated July 15 and published on Thursday, said Humala’s habeas corpus petition was well-founded because he had been convicted for conduct that was not legally defined as money laundering when the contributions were received. Humala, who led Peru from 2011 to 2016 and was the first Peruvian ex-leader to face trial in the Odebrecht scandal, welcomed the decision through his lawyer, Wilfredo Pedraza. Heredia subsequently received asylum in Brazil. The case is part of the wider Odebrecht corruption scandal that ensnared political leaders across Latin America. Odebrecht agreed in 2016 to pay $3.5 billion in penalties after admitting it spent $788 million in bribes to foreign leaders and government officials to win infrastructure contracts across the region, including at least $29 million paid to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.