A Peruvian court has sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering $3 million from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and $200,000 from the administration of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Following the verdict, Humala, 62, was taken into custody, while Heredia, 48, sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Lima and was later granted safe passage to Brazil with their youngest son, Al Jazeera reported.

During the three-year trial, which began after an investigation in 2016, Humala maintained that the charges stemmed from political persecution. His legal team has announced plans to appeal the court's decision.

Humala, a retired military officer who led the Andean nation from 2011 to 2016, will likely carry out his sentence on a police base built specially to house Peru’s jailed leaders.