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The former president would have received $3 million from Odebretch to fund his campaign.
Peru's Attorney General's Office opened up on Monday a preliminary investigation against former president Ollanta Humala for his participation in a corruption case to benefit Brazilian construction company Odebretch.
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The resolution by the National Prosecutor Zoraida Ávalos explains that Humala and his wife, Nandine Heredia, participated in an illicit association to commit a crime a created "an organization established in the executive power" to favor illegal operations "in detriment of the interests of the state."
Moreover, the prosecutor noted that Humala received $3 million from Odebretch to fund his campaign, as revealed by two witnesses, one of them the director of the Brazilian company Marcelo Odebrecht. Hence the legal authorities consider that Humala "had a desire" to help Odebretch since the beginning of its political race.
Although the prosecutor said that it is going to be a complex investigation that may last eight months, Nadine Heredia is prohibited from leaving Peru for 18 months.
This limitation was also established for a dozen former officials, including ex-ministers Jorge Merino, René Cornejo, and Carlos Paredes.
O TRF1 acaba de reconhecer que era falsa a acusação de que Lula recebia vantagens indevidas por meio de palestras. É a 5ª ação contra Lula rejeitada fora da jurisdição parcial de Moro e da Lava Jato. Aguardamos agora o STF julgar a suspeição de Moro e de Dallagnol. #AnulaSTF
— Lindbergh Farias (@lindberghfarias) September 1, 2020
"TRF1 has just recognized that the accusation that Lula received undue advantages through lectures was false. It is the 5th lawsuit against Lula rejected outside the partial jurisdiction of Moro and Lava Jato. We are now waiting for the Supreme Court to judge the suspicion of Moro and Dallagnol."
Humala is also accused of the concession of the Southern Peruvian Gas Pipeline to a consortium led by Odebretch, but the project never was concluded for lack of funding.
The investigation will go further into Humala's former cabinet members as the former Housing Ministers, Milton von Hesse; of Transport and Communications, José Gallardo; and of Agriculture, Juan Manuel Benites have been included in the inquiry.
In December 2019, the former director of Odebrecht in Peru, Jorge Barata, revealed that he held meetings with Heredia for the tender of the Gas Pipeline project. This during an interrogation in Brazil.
Ever since the Odebretch corruption scandal broke last year, several politicians have been related to the Brazilian construction company. One of the recent more notorious cases is the investigation opened in Mexico against former president Enrique Peña Nieto for corruption and bribery.
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