BOGOTA, Colombia 

A court in Peru has sentenced the country's former President Alejandro Toledo to 20 years and six months in prison in a corruption case involving the Brazilian company Odebrecht.

Toledo, 78, who served as the president from 2001-2006, was sentenced on Monday for corruption and money laundering, the local media reported.

In April 2023, Toledo was extradited from the US to face charges of taking bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in return for a government contract to build the Interoceanic Highway connecting Peru and Brazil.

After arriving in Peru under police custody, Toledo was sent to Barbadillo Prison in the capital Lima.

It was revealed that the Brazil-based firm Odebrecht had paid $800 million in bribes to the heads of state, senior government officials, and executives of many Latin American countries since 2001.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul