LIMA: Four top executives at Peruvian construction companies linked to Brazil’s Odebrecht, which is ensnared in a corruption scandal that has shaken Latin America’s political establishment, were jailed on Monday for bribing Peru’s ex-president Alejandro Toledo for contracts.

In the first court decision linked to Odebrecht to affect executives in Peru, Judge Richard Concepcion Carhuancho said 18-month terms of preventative detention were necessary because the men presented a “flight risk” and potential “obstruction of justice.” Three of Peru’s largest construction companies are involved: Grana y Montero, whose shares are listed in both Lima and New York; JJ Camet; and ICCGSA.

The jail terms, linked to collusion and money laundering charges, were requested by prosecutors.

Jose Alejandro Grana Miro Quesada, who until recently was president of the Grana’s board of directors and one of the most emblematic businessmen in the country, has been jailed along with ex-director Hernando Alejandro Grana Acuna.

JJ Camet’s president Fernando Gonzalo Camet Piccone was also jailed, as was ICCGSA managing director Jose Fernando Castillo Dibos.

A fifth businessman, Grana y Montero’s former executive president Gonzalo Ferraro Rey, was placed under house arrest as he is battling cancer.

According to prosecutors, the Peruvian companies, together with Odebrecht, paid a $20 million bribe to Toledo − who was president from 2001 to 2006 − to secure a contract to build sections of the interoceanic highway that unites Peru with Brazil.

An investigation showed that the Peruvian companies paid $15 million of the $20 million bribe, with the rest paid by Brazil.

Odebrecht’s former representative in Peru, Jorge Barata, revealed the bribe as part of a plea deal detailed by the prosecution.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian government in an unrelated development said on Monday it has suggested restrictions on the use of a dengue vaccine that has been suspended elsewhere after French drug company Sanofi SA said it could worsen the disease in some cases.

Brazil’s healthcare regulator Anvisa said it is now recommending that people who have never been infected with dengue not take the vaccine, which was approved for use in Brazil at the end of 2015.

Agencies