Peru's constitutional court has overturned a 15-year jail sentence against former president Ollanta Humala, who was found guilty of accepting illegal funds from Venezuela and Brazil's construction company Odebrecht to fund his election campaigns. The court declared the entire criminal proceedings against him null and void, meaning he is expected to be released from prison. This decision reverses a 2025 conviction that was one of several high-profile corruption cases involving Peruvian presidents connected to the Odebrecht scandal. Humala's lawyer claims that the contributions were not money laundering.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Ollanta Humala, Peru's former president from 2011-2016, has had a 15-year jail sentence for corruption charges overturned by the country's constitutional court. He was convicted of accepting illegal funds from the Venezuelan president and the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to fund his election campaigns in 2006 and 2011. The court declared that the entire criminal proceedings against him are null and void, meaning he is expected to be released from prison. This decision also affects his wife, Nadine Heredia, who was sentenced to 15 years for money laundering. According to Humala's lawyer, the court ruled that the contributions received by Humala did not constitute money laundering, which led to the dismissal of the proceedings against him.
Written for “Peru Corruption Case Reversal” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's neutral tone and balanced presentation of the case, including quotes from the defendant's lawyer that highlight the court's decision, suggest a lean towards neutrality. However, some phrases like 'the victims of political persecution' used by Humala and his wife's defense may slightly indicate a sympathetic tone towards them.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.20 for article 133 · logged 2026-07-31
- Published
Peru's constitutional court has overturned a 15-year jail sentence handed to the country's former president after he was found guilty of corruption.
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he → publish → corruption
Ollanta Humala, who led the country from 2011 to 2016, was convicted in 2025 of accepting illegal funds from the Venezuelan president and Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to fund his election campaigns in 2006 and 2011.
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who → lead → 2006
The former president had said he would appeal against the verdict, and now Peru's constitutional court has declared the entire criminal proceedings against him null and void.
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proceedings → say → him
Humala is expected to be released from Barbadillo Prison in the capital Lima, according to local media.
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Humala → expect → media
After the ruling, Humala's lawyer Julio Espinoza Goyena wrote on social media that the court had decided the contributions his client received on electoral campaigns "do not constitute money laundering".
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client → write → laundering
He said: "The Criminal Chamber currently handling the case must order the definitive dismissal of the proceedings and the FREEDOM of former President Ollanta Humala".
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Chamber → say → Humala
When Humala was convicted, his wife Nadine Heredia was also found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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wife → convict → prison
However, she was granted safe passage to Brazil after seeking asylum in the Brazilian embassy.
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she → grant → embassy
Humala was the first of four Peruvian presidents to be investigated in connection with the Odebrecht scandal.
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Humala → investigate → scandal
Alejandro Toledo, who governed from 2001 to 2006, was sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison for taking $35m (£26m) in bribes from the company.
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who → govern → company
Alan García, president from 1985 to 1990 and 2006 to 2011, killed himself in 2019 as he faced imminent arrest over allegations he was bribed by Odebrecht.
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he → kill → Odebrecht
He had denied the accusations.
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He → deny → accusations
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in office from 2016 to 2018, faced impeachment proceedings after it emerged that Odebrecht had paid him millions of dollars in his previous government role.
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Odebrecht → face → role
Kuczynski has always maintained the payments were not illegal.
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payments → maintain → ?
At their own trial, Humala and his wife, with whom he cofounded the Nationalist Party, were accused of accepting $3m in illegal contributions from the firm, which they used to finance his 2011 presidential campaign.
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they → cofounde → campaign
They were also accused of taking $200,000 from Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez to bankroll the 2006 campaign.
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They → accuse → campaign
But the couple always maintained that they were the victims of political persecution.
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they → maintain → persecution
Humala, a former army officer, came to national prominence in 2000 when he led a short-live military rebellion against then-president Alberto Fujimori.
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he → come → Fujimori
In 2006, he ran for president on a platform inspired by the socialist revolution of Venezuela's Chávez.
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he → run → Chávez
After an unsuccessful first attempt, Humala ran again in 2011; this time on a more moderate platform emulating the policies of Brazil's then-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to defeat right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori, the eldest daughter of Alberto Fujimori.
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Humala → run → Fujimori
His legal troubles started shortly after his term finished in 2016, when Odebrecht admitted to bribing Latin American government officials and political parties with hundreds of millions of dollars to win business.
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Odebrecht → start → business
Prosecutors accused Humala and his wife of receiving millions from Odebrecht, as well as the illegal funding from Chávez to finance the 2006 presidential campaign.
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Prosecutors → accuse → campaign
Humala and Heredia were subsequently placed in pre-trial detention for a year, before they were eventually convicted in 2025.
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they → place → 2025
