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Peru Prosecutor reaffirms Lava Jato team independence

14:10 | Lima, Jun. 17.

Prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez has affirmed the Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group is independent; thus, he ruled out having a political agenda or supporting President Martin Vizcarra.

Likewise, he underlined the Public Ministry respects the presumption of innocence and noted the oral hearing system, which is public and guarantees transparency of the justice operators —judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. 


"My job is to gather evidence, my job is to investigate. I am the one who represents the hurt society," the prosecutor expressed. 


However, he clarified that the person who committed the crime deserves a due process. 


Prosecutor Perez is part of the Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group, which investigates the Odebrecht and OAS scandals involving Peru's former high-ranking officials.

Odebrecht

As is known, the Brazilian construction giant admitted to having paid millions in bribes to government officials in Peru, in order to secure public-works contracts.

As a result, Odebrecht benefited from over US$143 million between 2005 and 2014 in Peru, according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

In addition, four ex-Presidents have been linked to the Brazilian company such as: Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Alan Garcia (2006-2011), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018)

Former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori —currently under preventive detention— also allegedly received money from Odebrecht for her 2011 campaign.

(END) RMCH/CCR/DTK/MVB

Published: 6/17/2019