The Peruvian left is once again embroiled in a judicial scandal during the presidential campaign: the Prosecutor's Office requested a sentence of 5 years and 4 months in prison against Roberto Sánchez, the communist candidate of Juntos por el Perú, for alleged irregularities in the financial information submitted by his party to the ONPE.
The request was made by prosecutor Humberto Ruiz, who accuses Sánchez of the crimes of false declaration in administrative procedure and falsification of information regarding contributions and party income submitted to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) between 2018 and 2020.
Another corruption scandal strikes the Peruvian left.
According to the prosecutor's accusation, the party allegedly reported income of "0 soles" in various electoral campaigns, despite detecting money movements of over 200,000 soles in accounts linked to the candidate's brother, William Sánchez Palomino. According to the investigation, those funds were purportedly used for party activities and political campaigns, but were never officially declared to the Peruvian electoral authorities.
The case gained special relevance because Sánchez managed to advance to the presidential runoff, where he will face right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori. The key hearing for the case is scheduled for May 27, just days before the electoral decision set for June 7.
The Prosecutor's Office also claims that the leftist leader submitted false financial reports in legislative and regional campaigns, omitting deposits and contributions made by party members. In fact, one of the alleged contributors denied having made contributions that appeared registered in the documentation submitted by the party.
The results of the election that led him to the runoff.
Although part of the investigation related to the alleged fraud in the administration of legal entities was previously archived, the Peruvian Public Ministry maintains the charges related to the falsification of party financial information. In addition to the prison sentence, the accusation includes a request for political disqualification so that Sánchez cannot continue holding party positions.
Sánchez's defense argues that the communist did not personally prepare the financial reports and only signed documents prepared by the party's accountants. They also denied that the leader appropriated money for personal purposes and maintained that the questioned funds were used for "internal expenses" of the campaign.
