LIMA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The defense team of former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo asked a court to free one of his bank accounts in Lima, his lawyer Roberto Su confirmed Saturday.
According to a request filed with the Peruvian judicial system, this account has money from Toledo's pension fund and thus cannot be blocked as it is constitutionally protected by Peruvian law.
The bank accounts of the former president have been blocked as investigations continue into how Toledo allegedly received a bribe worth 20 million U.S. dollars from Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht, during his time in office in exchange for a contract to build the Interoceanic Highway between Peru and Brazil.
The request stated that the account has funds worth 147,653 soles (45,000 U.S. dollars) and is unrelated to the Odebrecht investigation.
The bank account also received Toledo's salary payments as a former president.
Currently, Toledo is a fugitive in the U.S., having fled after a court sentenced him to a preventive prison term of 18 months for suspected money laundering. Peru has lodged an extradition request with the U.S. government.
