On Friday, the Peruvian President, Dina Boluarte, visited prosecutors to be asked about her Rolex watches, expensive jewelry, and unexplained bank deposits. This scandal has unsettled the country's fragile government.
Boluarte spent an extended period at the office of Attorney General Juan Carlos Villena, who was responsible for recording her statement.
The prosecutors had previously stated that she would need to show the luxury watches she didn't declare and clarify where they came from, as part of the investigation into illegal enrichment.
As per an AFP report on Friday, the questioning followed a police search of Boluarte's residence and presidential office on March 30 to locate the alleged collection, suspected to contain at least three valuable Rolex watches, based on photos released by local media.
While Boluarte provided her statement, small groups of protesters, including mainly women expressing their support for the president, gathered outside the prosecutor's office.
Another group loudly proclaimed: "Dina, jail awaits you!"
The government is hopeful that Boluarte's statement will bring an end to the scandal that led to two failed impeachment attempts by the right-wing majority in Congress on Thursday.
“I assume that after this explanation, the prosecutor's office will have no option but to close this investigation,” Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen declared on Thursday.
He stated that Boluarte “will know how to explain what happened.”
– ‘$56,000 bracelet’ –
The attorney general is also looking into an explanation for Boluarte’s possession of a “$56,000 Cartier bracelet” and other jewelry valued at over $500,000. Bank deposits totaling around $250,000 from her time as a cabinet minister in 2021 and 2022 are also under scrutiny.
Boluarte is the sixth president in the last 25 years to face corruption charges in Peru.
She is also the sixth president the country has had in just eight years.
The media investigation that triggered the probe revealed that she had worn various Rolex watches to official events while serving as vice president and minister of development before assuming office in 2022.
Boluarte has claimed that the watches resulted from hard work.
“I entered the presidential palace with clean hands and I will leave with clean hands, as I promised the Peruvian people,” Boluarte stated last week, criticizing the raids as “arbitrary, disproportionate and abusive.”
The president is already facing approval ratings of around 10 per cent and has had a difficult time in office since taking over from Castillo, who attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, resulting in his arrest and impeachment.
In 2023, prosecutors launched an investigation in which she is accused of “genocide, homicide, and serious injuries,” for the deaths of over 50 protesters during a crackdown on demonstrations demanding her resignation and fresh elections.
AFP
