Peru Fin Min: ICSID will not overlook Odebrecht corruption acts

"Since Odebrecht has taken this route, we are going to defend ourselves vigorously. We have full confidence in the strength of our arguments, and we believe that the ICSID will not overlook the corruption acts the company is involved in," she told TV Peru.

The cabinet member reiterated that the Peruvian State will exercise its right of defense against the arbitration lawsuit filed by the Odebrecht company before the ICSID.

"We have a successful track record in these types of controversies, supported by the responsible management we implement for these cases. I want to tell citizens to be confident that we will vigorously defend the interests of Peruvians," she said.

The minister clarified that she has not met with representatives of the Odebrecht company, because that is not a task of the Economy and Finance Ministry, since there is a multisectoral commission created by law for such cases.

"Any issue related to a dispute is within the scope of a multisectoral commission, created by law, and Odebrecht knew this since 2017. So, I would like citizens to know that any route other than this commission is irregular," Alva stated.

"In that sense, the Ministry of Economy and Finance had nothing to negotiate with them (Odebrecht executives). The law does not give us those powers. We strongly deny that we have met with the companies, and even less to discuss those matters, because it would be an irregular situation," she added.

"Knowing this, it (Odebrecht) did not enter any requirement or formally filed any claim, so this commission could not rule either for or against."

(END) CNA/MVB