Peru’s anti-corruption prosecutor seeks 30-year prison term for candidate Keiko Fujimori

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peru’s anti-corruption prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez said, on Thursday, March 11th, that he had requested a minimum 30-year prison sentence for presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, leader of the Popular Force (FP) party, who stands accused of accepting illicit campaign funds in the past.

Another 41 members of the conservative FP party have been accused as part of an investigation into alleged illegal contributions to Fujimori’s failed past presidential campaigns.

Perez has also accused them of obstructing justice and making false statements during judicial proceedings.

According to the indictment presented by Perez, the 45-year-old Fujimori received more than US$1 million in illicit campaign funds from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

Downplaying the charges, Fujimori claimed she is being persecuted and pledged to run a clean campaign in the lead-up to the upcoming general elections.

“No matter how much a prosecutor now wants to get into the final stretch of the first round, I will continue to face this persecution and energetically move forward so that together we can overcome this health and economic emergency,” Fujimori said.

The daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori is making her third run for the presidency. In 2019-2020, Keiko Fujimori served 16 months in preventive custody at the request of the Peruvian prosecutor’s office.

Peruvians will go to the polls on April 11th to elect a successor to President Francisco Sagasti, whose term ends on July 28th.