2024-03-31 05:30:00
(CNN Spanish) — Peruvian authorities raided the home of President Dina Boluarte on Friday night as part of an ongoing corruption investigation into alleged illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of luxury Rolex watches, CNN learned this Saturday.
The action, within the framework of the so-called “Rolex case”, was carried out by a team of prosecutors and police.
Raid on the Government Palace (CNN)
After the raid on the home, the authorities went to the Government Palace to carry out a similar procedure, also during the early hours of Saturday.
The presidency of Peru, on its
On March 19, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office announced the start of preliminary investigations against the president for alleged “illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of Rolex luxury watches.” The decision was made after the digital media “La Encerrona” published that the president had been seen wearing 14 different luxury watches, after reviewing thousands of photographs.
Boluarte responded by ensuring that everything he owns is the result of his hard work. “I arrived at the Presidential Palace with clean hands and I will leave with clean hands as I promised the Peruvian people,” he said.
In statements to Radio Programas del Perú, the president of the Council of Ministers, Gustavo Adrianzén, said he was outraged by what happened because he considers it an attack on the dignity of the presidency.
Adrianzén also assured that these actions are disproportionate and even unconstitutional, since the postponement of a new date for the president’s statement had been requested.
“It is unusual that, at midnight on a holiday, these actions have to be carried out,” said the Executive spokesperson, emphasizing that the president has at all times provided collaboration to the authorities.
Boularte’s lawyer, Mateo Castañeda, told local RPP on Saturday morning that the president agreed to testify at the prosecutor’s office on Friday, April 5. Prosecutors had requested that Boluarte testify earlier but she was unable to attend due to her schedule.
When asked if watches were found in the Presidential Palace, Castañeda said police took photographs of approximately 10 watches but could not confirm the brand.
“It was not necessary to mobilize so many resources, there were 17 prosecutors, 18 police officers, all armed, to search for watches. In a normal case this would be done with a prosecutor and two police officers but here it seems that they want to make a show,” Castañeda added.
Boluarte says it was an “arbitrary, disproportionate and abusive” measure
For her part, the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, addressed the country this Saturday, hours after authorities carried out raids on her residence and the Government Palace, in relation to an investigation being carried out for alleged illicit enrichment and omission in the declaration of assets, “due to the use of Rolex brand watches”.
In a message broadcast on national television and through social networks, Boluarte described the procedure as an “arbitrary, disproportionate and abusive” measure.
“I am respectful of the tax investigation; however, I reject the way it is done, in a discriminatory and unconstitutional manner,” said the president.
“This first president in the 200 years of the republic does not surrender in the face of this systematic attack and respectful of the autonomy of the institutions, I will be assisting the Prosecutor’s Office as soon as possible to establish the fact about the watches. I have always said that I am an honest woman. “I entered the Government Palace with clean hands and that is how I will retire in 2026. This woman president is not behind lobbies or negotiations and whoever sold the story of the watches knows it, because they know me, because I am not corrupt or a thief.” Boluarte added.
The Prosecutor’s Office defends its intervention
The Prosecutor’s Office said that the proceedings were carried out by court order and “therefore” it is ruled out that the “intervention was illegitimate, unconstitutional and abusive.”
In a statement published on your X account, the Prosecutor’s Office delved into details about the unlocking of the door of Boluarte’s residence. He said that “it was carried out after touching the intercom and realizing the reasons for the fiscal and police presence of Daniel Gómez Boluarte, requesting voluntary access to the home.” According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Gómez Boluarte then responded “wait a moment.”
“After a few minutes, the intercom was touched again repeatedly, since they did not open; This is how—after approximately ten minutes, and having no response—the main door was unlocked, as recorded in the search report with unlocking and notification of judicial measure,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.
In addition, the Prosecutor’s Office said that “the delivery of the Rolex watches was not located or occurred” by Boluarte “despite being requested to do so”, but that other “elements of interest for the investigation” were obtained.
Boluarte took office in December 2022 after Congress overthrew and arrested former President Pedro Castillo.
Boluarte’s corruption investigation joins a long list of past presidents facing corruption investigations and trials. In November 2020, Congress ousted President Martín Vizcarra in an impeachment vote over corruption allegations. His predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, had to resign amid a corruption scandal involving Latin America’s largest construction company, Brazil’s Odebrecht, in 2018. The president before Kuczynski, Ollanta Humala, also faced trial for accusations of money laundering.
This article has been updated with additional information.
With reporting from CNN’s Andy Ortiz and Marlon Sorto.
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