Court
Lima, Jul 30 (EFE).-
Peru’s Constitutional Court on Thursday annulled the investigation and criminal proceedings against former President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) over alleged illegal campaign contributions, overturning the conviction that had sent him to Barbadillo prison to serve a 15-year sentence and clearing the way for his release.
The Constitutional Court granted Humala’s habeas corpus petition, finding that his rights had been violated through breaches of the constitutional principles of legality and specificity in criminal law, which are linked to the right to personal liberty.
The ruling nullifies the entire criminal case against the former president, which also implicated his wife, Nadine Heredia, and prompted her to seek asylum in Brazil.
As it did previously when it dismissed the money laundering case against current President Keiko Fujimori, the Constitutional Court reaffirmed that irregular campaign contributions cannot be prosecuted as money laundering. It therefore annulled the investigation against Humala and senior members of his then-ruling Peruvian Nationalist Party.
According to testimony gathered by prosecutors, the disputed campaign contributions allegedly came from companies including Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, as well as from the administration of then-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In its ruling, the court said that at the time of the alleged conduct, during the 2006 and 2011 election campaigns, the receipt of assets was not defined in law as a form of money laundering.
For that reason, the court held that the charges against Humala violated the constitutional principle of legality in criminal law.
The Constitutional Court ordered the First Permanent National Preparatory Investigation Court Specialized in Organized Crime, or the appropriate criminal court, to determine Humala’s legal status once it is formally notified of the ruling.
The court also ordered the annulment of the entire money laundering case against Humala, finding that the charges lacked a legal basis. As a result, all subsequent judicial actions, including rulings rejecting procedural objections and the 2025 criminal conviction, are void.
Humala will become the first former Peruvian president convicted in connection with the Lava Jato corruption scandal to be released as a result of this judicial decision. Similar Constitutional Court rulings previously benefited Fujimori and close political allies, leading to the dismissal of the proceedings against them. EFE
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