(Reuters) – A U.S. court ordered a two-week pause on the extradition of Peru’s former President Alejandro Toledo, wanted in his home country on charges of taking millions of dollars in bribes as part of a continent-spanning corruption case.
The U.S. court of appeals based in San Francisco gave Toledo the 14-day reprieve in an order issued late Thursday, a day after a lower court and a panel of appellate court judges rejected an appeal by Toledo to stall his return to Peru.
The pause will allow Toledo, 77, more time to petition judges to reconsider his case.
Peru’s president from 2001 to 2006, Toledo is wanted on charges he accepted more than $25 million in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for help in obtaining public works contracts.
Multiple leaders from across the Americas have been implicated in the Odebrecht case, including three other former presidents of Peru.
Prosecutors in the South American country are seeking a more than 20-year prison sentence for Toledo.
He has denied soliciting or receiving bribes and does not face criminal charges in the U.S.
Reuters could not immediately reach the former president or his defense team for comment.
Toledo was arrested in the United States in 2019, following a formal request by Peru’s government for his extradition.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
