Peruvian court orders jail for former President Kuczynski

Peru's former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was handed a 36-month-long preventive prison sentence by a judge for his alleged involvement in a corruption case.

Kuczynski, who served as Peru's President from 2016 to 2018, was detained on April 10, as part of an ongoing investigation into bribery charges against Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

The company allegedly bribed government officials in exchange for favours, according to Xinhua.

According to Peru's judicial authority, the former Peruvian President "is being investigated for money laundering...being a part of a criminal organisation."

The sentencing comes in the wake of two-time former President Alan Garcia committing suicide as police sought to arrest him on similar charges related to Odebrecht bribery case.

Since 2017, Kuczynski is being investigated for accepting payments from Odebrecht, during his tenure as the minister of economy and finance under former President Alejandro Toledo, for his services as a consultant.

Toledo, meanwhile, has been found guilty of having received USD 20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction giant.

Odebrecht was allegedly given the contract to build the Interoceanic Highway linking Peru and Brazil in exchange. the Latin American country is currently seeking Toledo's extradition from the United States.