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Peru: Former Odebrecht representative to be interrogated over bribe-related "codinomes"

Photo: AFP

12:47 | Lima, Nov. 6.

Former Odebrecht representative in Peru Jorge Barata and other ex-company executives will once again testify before Peruvian prosecutors on December 11-13 in order to decode the "codinomes" (codinames) of the former Peruvian officials who would have received illegal payments from the construction company.

The Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group investigates the bribes paid by Brazilian companies Odebrecht and OAS to ex-Peruvian Government officials in exchange for public works.

The audience was scheduled for December because Peru's Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group Coordinator Rafael Vela and Prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez will —on November 12-13— testify in their investigations against former Attorney General Pedro Chavarry.

In this interrogation, according to El Comercio newspaper, Barata and the former executives will decode the missing "codinomes" and reveal all the operations carried out through the Division of Structured Operations (Box 2) —used for the payment of bribes.

Thus, it will be possible to confirm the route of the illegal money, the offshore used for the illicit payments, as well as the exact amounts.

Prosecutor Vela explained that —following the verdict of Judge Maria de los Angeles Alvarez on the return of resources related to the Chaglla hydroelectric plant— the Odebrecht company must fulfill its obligations established in the collaboration agreement signed with the Peruvian justice.

"We are now in a position to demand results in a much more rigorous and efficient way," Vela said.

Last October, the interrogation of former Odebrecht executives was suspended as the company argued that it had trouble searching for documentation on My Web Day and Drousys servers, citing economic difficulties.

Odebrecht

In mid-February, Peru's Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group signed the long-awaited collaboration agreement with Odebrecht representatives and former employees in Brazil. The accord did not include the Southern Gas Pipeline project.

This deal was intended to procure evidence and testimonies for the investigation of corruption cases in the Andean nation.

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— allegedly received money from Odebrecht for her 2011 campaign.

Ex-Lima Mayor Susana Villaran also admitted that Odebrecht and OAS had financed an anti-recall campaign during her tenure between 2011 and 2014. She currently serves a 24-month preventive detention.

(END) FHG/MVB

Published: 11/6/2019

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Peru: Former Odebrecht representative to be interrogated over bribe-related "codinomes"

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