Money trail

Where the money went and what the State recovered: money laundering, offshore companies, the Pandora Papers, forfeitures, asset seizures and unpaid civil damages. Dated, sourced figures, from the bribe to the seized property, tracing the full path of each case.

Sérgio Cabral: the trail of the US$100 million, Adriana Ancelmo’s jewels and the convictions that survive in 2026

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Sérgio Cabral

Sérgio Cabral governed Rio de Janeiro between 2007 and 2014 and is the politician with the most accumulated years in sentences in this entire series. The Brazilian press adds up more than 400 years in some twenty proceedings. However, this piece does not follow the sentences, but the money. In 2019 Cabral admitted holding US$100 … Read more about Sérgio Cabral: the trail of the US$100 million, Adriana Ancelmo’s jewels and the convictions that survive in 2026

Ollanta Humala: the trail of the Venezuela and Odebrecht contributions, the 57 donors who denied paying and what the Constitutional Court left unpunished

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Ollanta Humala

Ollanta Humala governed Peru between 2011 and 2016. In April 2025 he became the third former Peruvian president sentenced to prison over facts linked to Odebrecht. Fifteen months later, the Constitutional Court annulled the entire proceedings. This piece does not follow the sentence, but the money. It reconstructs which contributions the courts traced for the … Read more about Ollanta Humala: the trail of the Venezuela and Odebrecht contributions, the 57 donors who denied paying and what the Constitutional Court left unpunished

José López: the trail of the US$9 million from the convent, the bundle that travelled from New York and the assets the State kept

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José López

José López was Argentina’s Secretary of Public Works between 2003 and 2015, under Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández. In the early hours of 14 June 2016, a convent’s cameras filmed him throwing bags containing almost US$9 million, jewellery and a weapon. That image is the best-known of recent Argentine corruption. However, this piece does not … Read more about José López: the trail of the US$9 million from the convent, the bundle that travelled from New York and the assets the State kept

Roberto Prieto: the trail of Odebrecht’s million dollars, the 650 million pesos of Ruta del Sol III and the posters the construction company paid for in 2010

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Roberto Prieto

Roberto Prieto was the manager of Juan Manuel Santos’s re-election campaign in 2014. He is one of the Colombian political operators with the most judicial fronts over Ruta del Sol. This piece does not follow the sentences, but the money. It reconstructs three distinct flows. The million dollars that Odebrecht paid to the 2014 campaign … Read more about Roberto Prieto: the trail of Odebrecht’s million dollars, the 650 million pesos of Ruta del Sol III and the posters the construction company paid for in 2010

Otto Bula: the trail of Odebrecht’s 4,500 million pesos, the farm the Comptroller rejected and the 687 assets prosecutors seized

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Otto Bula

Otto Bula was a Liberal senator and a cattle rancher from Córdoba. He became Odebrecht’s key intermediary in Colombia for adding the Ocaña-Gamarra section to Ruta del Sol II. He then became the witness who made it possible to convict others. This piece does not follow his conviction, but his money. It reconstructs how much … Read more about Otto Bula: the trail of Odebrecht’s 4,500 million pesos, the farm the Comptroller rejected and the 687 assets prosecutors seized

Ñoño Elías: the trail of the 2 % of Ruta del Sol II, the 1,600 million pesos in bribes and the 13,600 million fine the Court imposed

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Bernardo «Ñoño» Elías

Bernardo Miguel Elías Vidal, «el Ñoño», was a senator for the Partido de la U and the great vote-getter of Córdoba. He is one of the politicians with the most final convictions in this series: three, none overturned. However, this piece does not follow the sentences, but the money. It reconstructs what he charged Odebrecht … Read more about Ñoño Elías: the trail of the 2 % of Ruta del Sol II, the 1,600 million pesos in bribes and the 13,600 million fine the Court imposed

Susana Villarán: the trail of Odebrecht and OAS’s US$10 million, the US$11.29 million prosecutors say she laundered and the US$267 million of the tolls

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Susana Villarán

Susana Villarán was Mayor of Lima between 2011 and 2014. She is the only former mayor of the Peruvian capital prosecuted over the Odebrecht scandal. She is also the only defendant in this series who publicly admitted the money she received. This piece does not follow the hearings, but the flows. It reconstructs the US$10 … Read more about Susana Villarán: the trail of Odebrecht and OAS’s US$10 million, the US$11.29 million prosecutors say she laundered and the US$267 million of the tolls

Keiko Fujimori: the trail of Dionisio Romero’s US$3.65 million, Odebrecht’s million and the 67 % of campaign money nobody could account for

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Keiko Fujimori

Keiko Fujimori took office as President of Peru on 28 July 2026. She arrives with the Cócteles case dismissed, but with three open investigations that the Constitution freezes while she governs. This piece does not follow the judicial decisions, but the money. It reconstructs how much entered her 2011 and 2016 campaigns and from where, … Read more about Keiko Fujimori: the trail of Dionisio Romero’s US$3.65 million, Odebrecht’s million and the 67 % of campaign money nobody could account for

José Domingo Arias: the trail of Odebrecht’s US$16 million in a US$21 million campaign, the US$500,000 of Badger Title and the PAN accounts

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José Domingo Arias

José Domingo Arias was Panama’s Minister of Housing between 2009 and 2013 and the presidential candidate of Cambio Democrático in 2014. He is one of the five former ministers of Ricardo Martinelli prosecuted over Odebrecht’s bribes. This piece does not follow the hearings, but the money. It reconstructs how much his campaign cost according to … Read more about José Domingo Arias: the trail of Odebrecht’s US$16 million in a US$21 million campaign, the US$500,000 of Badger Title and the PAN accounts

Roberto Arzú: the trail of the US$6.16 million he owes JJ Rendón, the deeds with «Paco» Domínguez and the US$1 million loan nobody has explained

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Roberto Arzú

Roberto Arzú García-Granados is a presidential hopeful in Guatemala for 2027 and polls third. He is the only protagonist in this series without a criminal conviction, but with an unusual money trail: debts, not bribes. This piece does not walk through his 18 fronts, but his accounts. First, it reconstructs the US$6.16 million debt to … Read more about Roberto Arzú: the trail of the US$6.16 million he owes JJ Rendón, the deeds with «Paco» Domínguez and the US$1 million loan nobody has explained