Peru's constitutional court has overturned a 15-year jail sentence imposed on former President Ollanta Humala following his conviction for corruption. The court declared the entire criminal proceedings against Humala null and void, paving the way for his expected release from Barbadillo Prison in Lima.
Humala, who served as president from 2011 to 2016, was found guilty in 2025 of accepting illegal campaign contributions from Venezuelan authorities and the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 election campaigns. His lawyer, Julio Espinoza Goyena, stated on social media that the court determined the contributions his client received did not constitute money laundering, and called for the definitive dismissal of the proceedings and Humala's freedom.
Humala's wife, Nadine Heredia, was also convicted of money laundering alongside him in 2025 and received a 15-year prison sentence. However, she was granted safe passage to Brazil after seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy.
Humala was the first of several former Peruvian presidents to face investigation in connection with the Odebrecht scandal. Alejandro Toledo, president from 2001 to 2006, was sentenced last year to over 20 years for accepting $35 million in bribes from the company. Former President Alan García, who led Peru from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011, died by suicide in 2019 as he was about to be arrested on allegations of receiving bribes from Odebrecht, claims he denied. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, president from 2016 to 2018, faced impeachment proceedings after revelations that Odebrecht had paid him millions of dollars in a prior government role; he has maintained these payments were not illegal. Investigations into these cases are ongoing.