Peruvian judge orders ex-leader to pre-trial jail

Lima: A Peruvian judge ordered former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to spend up to three years in jail while prosecutors prepare corruption charges against him for allegedly taking bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
Kaczynski, an 80-year-old former Wall Street banker, denies any wrongdoing.
Peru's judicial authority said via its Twitter account that Kuczynski "is being investigated for money laundering ... being a part of a criminal organisation."
Last week, Kuczynski was arrested during an ongoing investigation into Odebrecht and its alleged bribery of government officials.
Congressman Gilbert Violeta recently said Kuczynski had been hospitalized due to a cardiac issue that resulted from the preliminary detention order.
Kuczynski has been under investigation since 2017, following revelations that Odebrecht paid him when he was Minister of Economy and Finance under former President Alejandro Toledo, for his services as a consultant.
Toledo, in the office during 2001-2006, is charged with having received $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for the contract to build the Interoceanic Highway linking Peru and Brazil. Peru is seeking the extradition of Toledo from the US.
Kuczynski resigned from the presidency in March 2018 following the release of a video showing his allies trying to buy votes from opposition lawmakers ahead of a second impeachment vote over the corruption scandal.