International arrest warrant issued for 70-year-old Toledo over claims he took bribes from construction giant Odebrecht

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A judge in Peru has ordered the arrest of ex-president Alejandro Toledo while prosecutors prepare criminal charges against the former leader for allegedly receiving $20m in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in return for granting a lucrative contract to build a transoceanic highway between Brazil and the Peruvian coast. Judge Richard Concepcion late on Thursday (local time) accepted a request by prosecutors that Toledo be jailed as they investigate allegations he received $20m in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for permission to build a highway connecting Brazil with the Peruvian coast. The revelation, made in US courts in December, threatens to implicate presidents and former presidents who once promoted the hydroelectric plants, highways and irrigation canals that Odebrecht has built in the past two decades. According to the United States Department of Justice, Odebrecht has pleaded guilty and agreed in December to pay between US$ 2.6 billion and US$ 4.5 billion in a settlement with authorities in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland for paying almost US$ 800 million in bribes to government officials around the world. The 70-year-old former president has said would return to Peru as long as he could be assured of a fair trial. Authorities throughout Latin America have been moving fast to charge officials accused of taking bribes from Odebrecht, but Toledo is the first ex-president to face an arrest warrant.
A judge in Peru issues an arrest warrant for former President Alejandro Toledo for allegedly receiving US$20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in exchange for a contract deal to build a transoceanic highway between Brazil and the Peruvian coast. Toledo denies any wrongdoing.