Peru‘s attorney general has accused the country’s president Dina Boluarte of accepting bribes in the form of Rolex watches…it is the latest corruption case unsettling her government
ROLEXGATE SCANDAL IN PERU
The scandal erupted in March with the discovery of a trove of undeclared luxury Rolex watches and jewellery in the president’s possession.
Attorney General Juan Carlos Villena on Monday, May 27, said that her receiving the luxury items from a governor amounted to accepting bribes.
Villena on X/Twitter said he has ‘presented a constitutional complaint against Dina Boluarte as the suspected author of passive corruption.’
WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID
Boluarte told prosecutors last month the Rolex watches had been loaned by a friend, the regional governor of Ayacucho, Wilfredo Oscorima. She is being investigated on suspicion of ‘passive corruption’ for receiving improper benefits from public officials.
The attorney general’s accusation, presented to Congress, does not amount to an indictment because the president has immunity while in power.
PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS THE PRESIDENT
Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen criticized the accusation as ‘persecution’ of Boluarte.
‘This is nothing more than an example of the systematic persecution in fiscal matters that is carried out against the president in an improper, unconstitutional, and illegal manner,’ Adrianzen said.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?
A congressional committee must now debate the accusation before the whole chamber does so. However, it would be up to the courts to decide whether to put her on trial after her term ends in July 2026.
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POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN PERU
Peru suffers from chronic political instability and has had six presidents in the past eight years.
Boluarte took office in December 2022, replacing left-wing president Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and imprisoned for unsuccessfully trying to dissolve Congress. She was his vice president.
In 2023, prosecutors opened an investigation in which she stands accused of ‘genocide, homicide and serious injuries,’ for the deaths of more than 50 protesters during a crackdown on demonstrations demanding she resign and call fresh elections.
