Peru's ex-president back in Lima to face graft charges

Lima, April 24 Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has arrived in capital Lima, after being extradited from the US to face corruption charges of receiving millions of dollars in bribes.

Toledo's extradition ends a six-year battle raised by Peruvian judicial authorities, which accused him of allegedly taking at least $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in exchange for a government contract to build the Interoceanic Highway linking Peru and Brazil, reports Xinhua news agency.

The prosecutor in Peru is pursuing a sentence of more than 20 years in prison for that crime.

The 77-year-old, who governed Peru from 2001 to 2006, landed in Lima on Sunday.

Wanted since 2017, Toledo, was taken to the Police Aviation Directorate of Peru for immigration processing and a medical exam.

He will serve 18 months of preventative detention while being investigated.

Toledo was first arrested in California in 2019. He was then granted bail in 2020 and ordered to live under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor.

Last week, the former President's lawyers unsuccessfully filed for an emergency stay to block his extradition.