Peru's Ex-President Kuczynski Condemed to 3 Years in Prison for Odebrecht Case

Peru's Justice Department this Friday condemned former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to up to 3 years of preventative prison for his presumed role in aggravated money laundering related to the the Odebrecht corrpution case. He has not been found guilty of a crime up to this point.

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Peru: Former President Kuczynski Arrested for Alleged Falsified Odebrecht Payments

Kuczynksi had been arrested last week for allegedly receiving US$1 million from Odebrecht into his Westfield Company when he was the economy minister in a previous administration. The former president had also been hospitalized in recent days for hypertension problems.

The judge deciding the case had sentenced him to 10 days of preventative detention on the belief that if given the opportunity, he would hide information or intimidate or silence witnesses who used to work for him. 

On Thursday, the investigator on the case, Domingo Perez, requested the 36-month detention which has now been approved. 

This comes on the heels of another former president, Alan Garcia, commiting suicide in order to avoid a similar arrest.

Kuczynski's lawyer, Cesar Nakazaki, told reporters that "all the evidence shows in this case, more than in any other, that there were no payments through box two, (but) all payments were from legal operations." 

Kuczynski allegedly used the money to cover personal expenses, including the purchase of his house in the Lima residential district of San Isidro and for credit card payments.

In Peru, criminal suspects can be ordered to spend up to three years in jail before trial if prosecutors can show they have evidence that may lead to a conviction, the suspect may flee the country, or try to interfere in the investigation.

Kuczynski resigned last year as opposition lawmakers sought his impeachment.