(Reuters) – Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday, a U.S. Marshals Service official told Reuters, a day after his bid to block his extradition to Peru over corruption charges was denied.
Toledo, who was president from 2001 to 2006, is wanted in Peru over charges that he received more than $25 million from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for help in obtaining public works contracts. Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence.
Toledo has denied soliciting or receiving bribes. He has not been criminally charged in the United States.
A federal judge in Washington on Thursday denied Toledo’s bid to block his extradition.
The former president was arrested in the United States in July 2019 after a formal request by Peru for his extradition. He was released on bail in 2020 and was living in California until at least last year.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; Writing by Paul Grant; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Frances Kerry)
