Peru's former President Ollanta Humala released after constitutional court overturns money laundering conviction

Aug 1, 2026

Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala was released from a Lima prison on July 31, 2026, after the Constitutional Court overturned his 15-year money laundering conviction. Humala, who served from 2011 to 2016, had been jailed since April 2025 over $3 million in illicit campaign contributions from Brazilian builder Odebrecht. The court ruled that campaign contributions did not constitute money laundering when the acts occurred. The decision was welcomed as fair by Foreign Minister Carlos Espa, serving under Humala's political rival, President Keiko Fujimori.

Ollanta Humala prison release

▪Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala was released from prison on Friday, July 31, 2026, after his 15-year money laundering conviction was overturned.
▪Ollanta Humala left Barbadillo prison in Lima under police escort at approximately 7:40 p.m. local time on July 31, 2026.

Constitutional Court conviction overturn

▪Peru's Constitutional Court declared Ollanta Humala's 15-year prison sentence null and void in a ruling published on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
▪The Constitutional Court annulled Ollanta Humala's conviction because campaign contributions did not legally constitute the crime of money laundering at the time the alleged acts occurred.

Odebrecht bribery scandal Peru

▪Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were convicted in 2025 of receiving illegal campaign contributions from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government.
▪Nadine Heredia was granted political asylum in Brazil by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and remains there following her conviction.
▪In 2016, Odebrecht agreed to pay $3.5 billion in penalties after admitting to spending $788 million in bribes to foreign officials, including at least $29 million to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.

Presidential prison former leaders

▪The Odebrecht corruption scandal in Peru also implicated former presidents Alan Garcia, who committed suicide in 2019, and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who remains under investigation.
▪Ollanta Humala was held in a special detention facility on a police base in eastern Lima alongside former Peruvian presidents Alejandro Toledo, Martin Vizcarra, and Pedro Castillo.

Keiko Fujimori Odebrecht indictment

▪Peru's Foreign Minister Carlos Espa, serving under President Keiko Fujimori, described the Constitutional Court's ruling to release Ollanta Humala as a fair verdict.
▪Peru's newly sworn-in President Keiko Fujimori was previously indicted and spent over a year in pre-trial detention for alleged campaign contributions from Odebrecht before her proceedings were annulled.

Habeas corpus ruling

▪Ollanta Humala's legal team secured his release by filing a habeas corpus petition in January 2026, which the Constitutional Court declared well-founded.
▪Following the Constitutional Court's annulment, a Peruvian criminal court formally ordered Ollanta Humala's immediate release on Friday, July 31, 2026.