Judiciary extends ban on ex-President Kuczynski leaving Peru

The Peruvian judiciary decided Tuesday to extend the ban on former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018) from leaving the country for another nine months while the investigation against him for the alleged crime of money laundering in the Odebrecht affair continues.

The measure was approved by Judge Jorge Luis Chávez of the Seventh National Investigative Tribunal (JIPN) at the request of the prosecutor’s office to ensure the presence of the former president in Peru until the investigation is completed.

“The Seventh JIPN has decided to extend for nine months the ban on the departure of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in the criminal case against him for money laundering in a criminal organization to the detriment of the State,” the judicial authority announced on Twitter.

In its request to extend the measure, the prosecution argued, among other things, that there was “evidence” of the crime of obstruction and “little cooperation” on the part of Kuczynski, who is “unwilling to disclose and hand over information about his finances and the activities of his company.”

However, the former president’s defense had asked that the prosecution’s request be declared unfounded after questioning whether, at the time a four-month ban on leaving the country was imposed, “there was no element of conviction during that period that would have led to a second extension of the ban.”

Kuczynski has been under investigation since 2019 for allegedly receiving money from Odebrecht when he was president of the Council of Ministers and head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance under the government of former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006).

Between 2002 and 2006, he apparently received transfers from the construction company to his companies, First Capital, Latin American Enterprise, and Westfield Capital.

During this period, the Brazilian company was awarded the concession for the Trasvase Olmos and IIRSA Sur-Tramos 2 and 3 projects.

The Odebrecht scandal triggered a severe political crisis in Peru after it was revealed that four former presidents, former ministers, judges, prosecutors, and other former officials were implicated in the scandal, allegedly receiving millions of dollars in payments in exchange for concessions for infrastructure projects.

The other former Peruvian presidents indicted for alleged illicit benefits from the Brazilian construction company are Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Alan García (2006-2011), and Ollanta Humala (2011-2016).