Peruvian court confirms ex-president Vizcarra, facing charges, can remain at liberty

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra will remain at liberty while under investigation on charges that he received bribes when he was governor of the Moquegua region (between 2011 and 2014).

The First Court of Appeals Specialized in Corruption of Public Officials rejected an appeal by the prosecution of a lower court decision made on March 18 by Judge Maria de los Ángeles Álvarez.

The court confirmed that Vizcarra will continue to appear in court with restrictions and will not be remanded in custody for 18 months, as requested by the prosecutor’s office; however, the court increased the bail he will have to post from 100,000 to 250,000 soles (US$27,700 to US$69,400).

Corruption offenses

The court of appeal increased the bail amount because Vizcarra is being investigated for the alleged commission of crimes against the state, such as aggravated collusion, passive bribery, and illicit association to commit crimes.

A former president from 2018 to 2020, he is currently running for a seat in Congress. Prosecutor Germán Juárez is investigating him over allegations that he received kickbacks during bids to construct the Lomas de Ilo water project and the Moquegua Regional Hospital.

Plea bargaining whistleblowers told prosecutors that Vizcarra received for the first project 1 million soles (US$270,000) and the second, 1.3 million (US$350,000), paid by construction companies Obrainga and Iccgsa, respectively.

“Scapegoating”

During the first hearing on the preventive detention request, Vizcarra defended his innocence and said he felt like “a scapegoat” of the Public Prosecutor, given the slowness in prosecuting those involved in the Odebrecht and “Construction Club” cases, as a group of construction companies that paid bribes to win public works tenders in Peru became known.

He also said that the Public Prosecutor “leaked the testimony of an aspiring whistleblower out of context and incomplete” and that the content was used by Congress opposition party to carry out his removal as president.

Vizcarra was removed from office on November 9 by Congress for “moral incapacity” after the accusation that he had received bribes became public. However, the case had not yet been tried, which led to a serious political and social crisis that caused the country to have three presidents in just one week.

Source: efe

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