Peru: Attorney general's office files complaint against President Boluarte for bribery in Rolexgate case

(AFP / VOZ MEDIA) Peruvian Attorney General Juan Carlos Villena filed a complaint Monday before Congress against President Dina Boluarte for the alleged crime of bribery of a public official in connection to the well-known luxury watch scandal called Rolexgate.

"The attorney general's office, through the Area of Illicit Enrichment and Constitutional Complaints, filed a constitutional complaint against Dina Boluarte, as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of improper passive bribery, to the detriment of the state," the Public Ministry said in a statement on social media.

The complaint is one step before a political pretrial, which must subsequently be evaluated by the judiciary when Boluarte's term ends.

For the attorney general's office, the complaint refers to "three Rolex watches that the president would have received as a donation from the regional governor of Ayacucho, Wilfredo Oscorima, [along with] a pair of gold hoop earrings with diamonds and a Bangle bracelet with 94 diamonds."

The president has been investigated as part of Rolexgate since March for improper passive bribery, a crime that involves receiving improper benefits from officials.

She is also being investigated for taking improper benefits and failure to record assets in documents.

In the Congress of Peru, the complaint must be evaluated by a subcommittee on constitutional accusations before being debated by the plenary in a procedure without a specific deadline.

Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén claimed that there is clear fiscal persecution against the president, which affects the daily work she does for the benefit of the country.

"This is nothing more than an example of the systematic persecution in fiscal matters that is carried out on the president in an improper, unconstitutional and illegal manner," Adrianzén told television channel N.

Boluarte, who will turn 62 this Friday, can only be brought to trial at the end of her term, in July 2026, as established by the Peruvian Constitution.

With this case, there have been six presidents implicated in corruption cases in the last quarter century. In just eight years, Peru has had six different leaders.