Peru search former president's home for evidence in graft case

Peruvian prosecutors on Saturday searched the home of former president Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) and seized potential evidence in connection with a long-running graft case.

Authorities arrived at the home at 3 a.m. and searched the site for more than 8 hours, state news agency Andina said.

"Lead anti-corruption prosecutor Hamilton Castro left the premises carrying two boxes of documents, videos and two safes," the agency said.

Toledo is one of three ex-presidents implicated in a multinational corruption scandal sparked by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and its systematic payments to officials in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

Starting in 2005, Odebrecht reportedly paid out some 20 million U.S. dollars to offshore firms run by a friend of Toledo's, an Israeli national named Josef Maiman, the company revealed as part of a plea bargain.

The money aimed to secure a contract to build Peru's Inter-Oceanic Highway, one of several projects Odebrecht won in Peru.

Authorities have so far arrested two minor officials, including a deputy minister, in relation to Odebrecht's network of bribes and kickbacks, which also operated in other Latin American countries.

Odebrecht has admitted to paying more than 29 million U.S. dollars in bribes to Peruvian officials during the administrations of former presidents Toledo, Alan Garcia Perez and Ollanta Humala, who between them governed from 2001 to 2016.

source: Xinhua