Trial in opposition to Keiko Fujimori begins in Peru for Odebrecht case

LimaFormer Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori took the stand on Monday on the opening of her trial for cash laundering within the Odebrecht scandal, for which she could possibly be sentenced to as much as 30 years in jail.

For the previous six years, the particular workforce of prosecutors Lava Jato investigated the daughter of aged former President Alberto Fujimori, who was pardoned in December 2023 whereas serving a sentence for human rights violations.

With Keiko current, the oral trial started at 09:00 native time (14:00 GMT) in a Lima courtroom.

“My identify is Keiko Sofia Fujimori Higuchi (…) I work as President of the Fuerza Standard occasion and I earn 14 thousand soles a month (round 3 thousand 600 {dollars}),” stated the influential politician.

The trial – by which some 1,500 witnesses are known as – may take greater than a yr. The prosecutor within the case, José Domingo Pérez, arrived on the listening to sporting a bulletproof vest and beneath heavy guard.

Peruvian prosecutors have concluded that Fujimori financed his 2011 and 2016 campaigns with undeclared Odebrecht cash.

In line with the indictment, the Brazilian development firm gave Fujimori $1.2 million as a part of a bribery scheme it arrange all through Latin America in trade for contracts.

Outdoors the courthouse, some 80 supporters gathered, shouting “Justice sure, revenge no! Keiko is harmless.”

“We’ve got come to defend the innocence of our chief Keiko Fujimori, this trial lacks seriousness,” Sadith Lopez, 57, instructed AFP.

Police intervened to forestall clashes with a small group of opponents of the chief.

The Odebrecht corruption scandal in Peru has additionally implicated 4 former presidents of the nation, between 2001 and 2016.

““Political intentionality”

Fujimori, 49, chief of Fuerza Standard, Peru’s essential right-wing occasion, has all the time maintained his innocence. Throughout the investigation, he has served 16 months in preventive detention.

Keiko Fujimori is charged with cash laundering, organized crime, obstruction of justice, falsification and false statements in an administrative process.

Though contributions to overseas firms’ campaigns have been permitted on the time, the prosecutor’s workplace prosecuted the Peruvian politician for not having declared the revenue from Odebrecht.

The prosecution is asking for 30 years and 10 months in jail for the three-time Peruvian presidential candidate.

“The prosecutors’ angle was politically motivated, to break my picture, as a result of they requested to droop the Fuerza Standard occasion,” Fujimori stated Sunday in an interview with Channel N.

There are 45 different defendants in the identical case, together with her ex-husband, Italian-American Mark Vito Villanella, and former leaders of the Fujimori occasion.

If discovered responsible and the trial concludes earlier than 2026, Keiko Fujimori will be unable to run in that yr’s elections.

“This case has no authorized future, it should finish in an acquittal,” stated Giulliana Loza, Fujimori’s lawyer.

The protection argues that the cash for which they intend to sanction Fujimori is of authorized origin, so “it’s not cash laundering,” in keeping with Loza.

Former presidents beneath investigation

Former Odebrecht bosses stated they distributed tens of millions of {dollars} to Peruvian politicians, together with Fujimori and 4 former presidents: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2018-2016), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), Alan García (1985-1990 and 2006-2011) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006).

When he was about to be arrested as a part of the investigation, former President García dedicated suicide with a firearm.

With weak establishments and political events in disaster, Peru is the nation hardest hit by the Odebrecht scandal, after Brazil.

The Peruvian judicial system is at the moment prosecuting former presidents Humala and Toledo in parallel.

The prosecutor within the case had requested in 2020 that Fuerza Standard be banned as a political occasion, claiming that it was a “prison group.”

The courtroom rejected this, permitting him to compete within the final basic elections in 2021 and win 24 seats in Congress out of a complete of 130.

Fujimorism is the primary power within the fragmented Congress, which it controls along with different right-wing teams.

Keiko Fujimori’s occasion has opposed opposition requires President Dina Boluarte to be subjected to impeachment proceedings.