Peruvian President Kuczynski denies Odebrecht corruption allegations as Congress launches impeachment process
It is the latest fallout from the wide-reaching scandal that has ensnared some of Latin America’s most powerful political leaders
Lawmakers in Peru initiated proceedings on Friday to impeach President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who refuses to resign after being accused of failing to disclose decade-old payments from a Brazilian company embroiled in Latin America’s biggest corruption scandal.
In a brief session, 27 of 130 members of congress put forward a request to consider removing the former Wall Street banker for “permanent moral incapacity”. Lawmakers could summon Kuczynski to defend himself before congress as early as next week.
The political turmoil rocking Peru is the latest fallout from the wide-reaching Odebrecht corruption scandal that has ensnared some of Latin America’s most powerful political leaders. The Brazilian construction giant admitted in a 2016 US Justice Department plea agreement to paying nearly US$800 million in bribes to obtain lucrative public works contracts. Investigations continue as prosecutors throughout the region try to determine who in the halls of power met and accepted payments from Odebrecht.
Kuczynski has denied wrongdoing. He delivered an impassioned speech surrounded by cabinet members late on Thursday saying he had no involvement in payments made by Odebrecht-led consortiums to his Westfield Capital consulting firm.
“I’m not running and I’m not hiding because I have no reason to,” Kuczynski said, vowing to produce his personal bank records for public scrutiny. “I’m not going to abdicate my honour, my values or my responsibilities as president of all Peruvians.”
Opposition lawmakers presented documents provided by Odebrecht on Wednesday showing US$782,000 in payments to Westfield between 2004 and 2007. Between those years, Peru awarded Odebrecht a major highway contract and Kuczynski was a high-ranking government official. The president said he had no management duties at his consulting firm during that period. He added that all the payments were made to his business partner. That partner also owns First Capital, which the Odebrecht documents show received US$4 million.