Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has asked Donald Trump to extradite Alejandro Toledo, who is wanted on bribery charges.
ADVERTISEMENTPeruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has revealed that he asked US President Donald Trump to consider deporting the South American country’s fugitive former leader.
Kucyznski said that he spoke with Trump during a phone call on Sunday, asking him to “evaluate” the situation, and requesting that the he consider the extradition of Alejandro Toledo, who is wanted in connection with a far-reaching graft probe.
Toledo, who is believed to be in San Francisco, is accused of taking $20m (19m euros) in bribes from Brazilian building firm Odebrecht in return for a contract to build stretches of a highway linking the country with Brazil.
A reward of $30,000 (28,000 euros) has been offered for information leading to Toledo’s arrest.
Manhunt for Peru's ex-prez
AlejandroToledo</a> on corruption charges starts in San Francisco <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordUniver">StanfordUniverAP</a> <a href="https://t.co/MPg27wGsSI">https://t.co/MPg27wGsSI</a> <a href="https://t.co/du6YCLaPiU">pic.twitter.com/du6YCLaPiU</a></p>— Joshua Goodman (APjoshgoodman) February 11, 2017
The former leader, who is a visiting professor at Stanford University, governed Peru from 2001 to 2006.
The US says that attempts to arrest Toledo have stalled due to legal hurdles, saying it is unable to apprehend Toledo until further information on the case against him has been shared, according to Peruvian officials.
It was feared that Toledo may try to fly to Israel, where his wife Eliane Karp has citizenship.
However, Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement that he would not be allowed to enter the country until “his affairs in Peru are settled”.
Odebrecht – the company from which Toledo is accused of taking bribes – is at the centre of a multi-national corruption scandal.
It has admitted to paying close to $800m (750m euros) in bribes to governments across South America, including $29m (27m euros) in Peru to secure contracts between 2005 and 2014.
Two other ex-presidents, Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala, are accused of being complicit in the scandal, however, all three deny any wrongdoing.