Former Peruvian president arrested in U.S. on extradition order

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was arrested in the United States under an extradition order on Tuesday, the South American country's public prosecutor's office said in a post on its official Twitter account.

Toledo, who governed from 2001 to 2006, is considered a fugitive in Peru for allegedly receiving $20 million from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The company admitted publicly in late 2016 that it had secured lucrative contracts across the region with bribes, including $29 million US spent in Peru.

Peru formally requested Toledo's extradition from the U.S. a year ago.

The 73-year-old has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has refused to heed orders by local judges to spend up to 18 months in pretrial detention in connection with the massive bribery probe.

"This will be the ex-President's first appearance before U.S. judicial authorities, as part of the process aiming to return him to the country," the Public Ministry said on Twitter.

Peru has suffered a wave of political scandals linked to corruption and the Odebrecht case. Former Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was arrested at his home over allegations of bribery linked to the investigation.

In April, another ex-president, Alan Garcia, fatally shot himself in the head after police arrived at his home in Lima to arrest him in connection with the investigation.

Toledo's lawyer Heriberto Benitez told local radio station RPP that the former president had not received due process in the investigation by Peruvian prosecutors.

Toledo was also arrested in northern California in March for public drunkenness, but was released back into the community.