The former president of Peru is sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption

The court in Peru has sentenced former president Alejandro Toledo to 20 years and six months in prison for corruption and money laundering.

Prosecutors say he took $35 million in bribes from a Brazilian construction company that was awarded a contract to build a road in southern Peru, the Telegraph reports.

Toledo, 78, was in office between 2001 and 2006. He was arrested five years ago in California, where he had lived and worked for many years, and was extradited to Peru last year.

Brazilian company Odebrecht has admitted paying millions of dollars in bribes to officials across Latin America and the US to secure government contracts.

Judge Inés Rojas said Peruvians had "trusted" Toledo as their president, "in charge of managing public finances" and responsible for "protecting and ensuring the correct use" of resources.

Instead, she was quoted as saying that he had "cheated the state". On the other hand, Toledo has denied the accusations against him and on Monday he laughed from time to time, especially when the judge was speaking.

In 2019, another former Peruvian president, Alan García, shot himself when police arrived at his home to arrest him on bribery charges involving Odebrecht, which has since changed its name to Novonor. /Telegraph/