Prosecutor German Juarez Atoche —a member of the
Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group— affirmed there is evidence suggesting arbitrators —who participated in Odebrecht's arbitral proceedings— allegedly received money from the construction firm in order to favor it to the detriment of the Peruvian State.
According to Juarez, the modus operandi consisted of introducing addendums in the contracts signed by the Brazilian company and then filing lawsuits against the State for large sums of money, which were resolved by an arbitral tribunal.
"These lawsuits often favored the company, and that's when arbitrators intervened. They colluded with one another in order to rule in favor of
Odebrecht," he expressed.
Likewise, the prosecutor indicated 21 people —among arbitrators and Transport Ministry's ex-officials who served between 2009 and 2013— are being investigated as part of this case.
Furthermore, he stated the Prosecutor's Office currently investigates 13 arbitration rulings, of which 10 were resolved unanimously in favor of Odebrecht and three against it.
Abanto is the lawyer of the Alberto Fujimori regime's
Minister Jaime Yoshiyama Tanaka, who is included in the Prosecutor's Office's investigation into alleged money laundering crimes in the case linked to Odebrecht contributions to Fuerza Popular party during Keiko Fujimori's 2011 presidential campaign.
Another person under investigation is Attorney Horacio Canepa, who had over €1 million in a
bank account in Andorra.
Prosecutor Juarez said the inquiry is fairly advanced, and everything suggests it will end up in a formal investigation.
(END) FHG/CVC/DTK/RMB
Published: 2/6/2019