Peruvian President Dina Boluarte appeared before the Attorney General's Office on Friday to be questioned about the origin of jewelry, luxury watches and hundreds of thousands of dollars in their bank accounts in an investigation by alleged illicit enrichment that has unleashed a new political crisis in the Andean country.
The prosecutor's office building, located in the historic center of Lima, was surrounded early on by bars, riot police and journalists. A man carried a sign with the phrase “Popular Insurgency” while a woman repeated with a horn “Dina murders the people repudiate you, Dina a thief the people repudiate you.” Shortly after, the president's car entered surrounded by her entourage of armed police officers.
The day before, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén said that he hopes that with the president's statements, what he described as a “soap opera” will end. “I presume that after this explanation there is nothing left for the Public Ministry but to close this investigation.”
Boluarte is under preliminary investigation after the journalistic program “La Encerrona” reviewed thousands of photos of Boluarte's activities and reported in mid-March that the president had worn at least 15 watches, several of them luxury, including a Rolex valued at about $14,000 in Peru which had not been declared, as is the obligation among officials.
The information triggered the attention of other media outlets, which rummaged through the president's photos and videos and found at least two other Rolexes along with other gold jewelry, in addition to thousands of dollars in her bank accounts. The Attorney General's Office states that the luxury jewelry and watches could total more than $500,000, while their accounts contain more than $400,000 whose origin has to be clarified.
The president survived two legislative calls for impeachment on Thursday for “permanent moral incapacity” pushed by left-wing groups. The motions did not reach the 48 votes required to move on to a debate that would have further exposed Boluarte, who has so far not explained the origin of her watches, jewelry and money.
Boluarte came to power in July 2021 as vice president and minister of President Pedro Castillo. In December 2022, she became president, succeeding Castillo, who was dismissed by Parliament and imprisoned while he is investigated for corruption and attempting to close Congress. Before 2021, she was a modest official at an identity registration office.
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