The ex-president Alexander Toledoaccused by the government of Peru of corruption and money laundering, turned himself in this Friday morning to the US Justice to begin his extradition process to Peru, the authorities in California reported.
Toledo, 77, turned himself in at 09:15 local time to a federal court in San José and was made available to the United States Marshals Service.
The politician, who ruled Peru from 2001 to 2006, left his residence in Menlo Park accompanied by his lawyer and his wife, Eliane Karp. He was wearing a green jacket, red vest, blue jean and sports shoes.
A large procession of media was waiting at the entrance of the Robert F. Peckham federal building, where he had to turn himself in, however Toledo evaded them and entered discreetly from another place.
The information of his delivery was confirmed to AFP by the bailiff service.
The extradition process is expected to be completed in less than a week, according to sources in the judicial system.
Toledo, accused in Lima in the framework of the Odebrecht casehas always denied the accusations and presented several petitions to block the extradition that Peru has been seeking since 2018 and that the United States authorized in February.
All his resources to delay the process were denied.
We stand ready to transfer Dr. Toledo to Peru to comply with the court order,” Assistant Attorney General Kyle Waldinger said this week.
The former president will remain “in a suitable prison” until he is handed over to the Peruvian authorities, detailed Judge Thomas Hixson, of the Northern District of California.
The politician is a resident of the United States, where he studied and worked at Stanford University.
Following the accusations and the extradition request from Lima, he was arrested in 2019 in California, and the following year he was placed in house arrest with an electronic anklet.
Peru accuses him of having received millions of dollars from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for public works tenders. Prosecutors ask for 20 years and six months in prison.
Odebrecht recognized the payment of bribes in Brazil and other countries in the region in the framework of the Lava Jato scandal, for which dozens of Latin American politicians and businessmen are imprisoned.
Four other former Peruvian presidents face legal proceedings for corruption:
- Ollanta Humala (2011-2016)
- Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018)
- Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020)
- Pedro Castillo (2021-2022)
The ex-president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) was also convicted of corruption, in addition to crimes against humanity, and Alan García (2006-2011) committed suicide in 2019 when the police were about to arrest him on suspicion of being linked to the Odebrecht case.
Toledo’s lawyers did not respond to AFP’s inquiries.
