BOGOTA 

A court in Peru sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison Tuesday on charges of money laundering, local media reported.

The judges of the National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia received around $3 million in illegal campaign contributions from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government to finance Humala’s 2006 and 2011 campaigns.

Heredia managed Humala’s campaign during both elections.

Judge Nayko Coronado, who ordered their immediate detention, said various actions aimed at laundering money from illegal sources had been proven.

Following the verdict, Heredia sought political asylum at the Brazilian Embassy in Lima. Peru’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that she had formally submitted the request under the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum.

Heredia’s brother, Ilan Heredia, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison in the same case.

Authorities confirmed that Humala will serve his sentence at Barbadillo Prison in Lima, where several former presidents are also being held.

With this verdict, Humala becomes the third former Peruvian president in two decades to be imprisoned over the Odebrecht scandal. Former President Alejandro Toledo is currently serving a 20-year sentence, while Alberto Fujimori remains behind bars following multiple convictions.

The investigation into Humala and Heredia began in 2015, a year before Odebrecht publicly admitted to widespread bribery across Latin America.