LIMA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Peru on Friday officially requested the United States extradite former President Alejandro Toledo, who is under investigation on charges of corruption, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
Toledo, who has been living in hiding somewhere in the United States with his wife, is accused of accepting 20 million U.S. dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for inflated public works contracts to build the Interoceanic Highway linking Peru and Brazil.
The ministry said via its Twitter account that it delivered the documents to the U.S. State Department, where they are to be processed before being sent to the Department of Justice.
Toledo, who served as president from 2001 to 2006, fled to the United States more than a year and a half ago, despite an arrest warrant has been issued.
His lawyer Heriberto Benitez filed a habeas corpus motion to block the extradition process, claiming his client's individual rights are under threat.
