Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has surrendered this Friday to the United States authorities prior to his extradition to the Andean country, where he has several pending corruption cases.
His surrender puts an end to a long judicial process that has been dragging on until the last moment, in an attempt to stop his return to Peru, where he must serve at least 18 months in preventive prison while the investigation into the alleged bribes he received from Odebrecht in exchange for public works progresses.
Toledo has turned himself in at a different courthouse than the one in the San Jose courthouse in California where he had been summoned to avoid having images of the moment of his arrest, reported Peruvian broadcaster RPP.
In the last hours, the U.S. Justice had rejected an ‘emergency motion, a last attempt to stop his extradition. The former Peruvian president has put forward all kinds of reasons to avoid having to return to Peru, from his state of health to the recent political crisis in his country.
Toledo is accused by Peruvian authorities of collusion and money laundering in the framework of the investigation for bribes he allegedly received from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for the company being favored in the bidding of works for the Interoceanic highway, accusations that he denies.
As part of this operation, Toledo was arrested in the United States in July 2019 with a view to his extradition to Peru. However, in March 2020 he was released on bail citing risks to his health due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
