A court in Lima, the capital of Peru, found former president Ollanta Umala guilty of money laundering while financing his election campaigns. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His wife Nadine Heredia received the same sentence. informs BBC.
According to the investigation, during the 2006 election campaign, Umala received about 1.5 million soles in illegal contributions from then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In 2011, during the presidential race, he received approximately $3 million from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
“The former military officer rose to prominence in 2000 after attempting an armed uprising against then-President Alberto Fujimori. In 2006, Umala ran for president for the first time, enlisting the support of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, from whom prosecutors say he received funding.” – says the message.
Nadine Heredia, who founded the Nationalist Party with her husband, was found guilty of organizing and leading the campaigns and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Her brother, Ilan Heredia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Prosecutors insisted on harsher sentences — 20 years for Umala and 26.5 years for his wife. Ollanta Umala attended the sentencing in person, while Nadine Heredia participated remotely.
