Peruvian President Under Investigation for Corruption, Failing to Declare Luxury Items

Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office said on Monday it was investigating President Dina Boluarte for alleged corruption amid questions over her Rolex watch. The Public Prosecutor's Office said it was also investigating Boluarte for the possible crime of failing to properly declare an item.

On Friday, Boluarte evaded a question from the press on whether she had declared the watch in her list of assets, a duty of every public official. The president has said that the Rolex watch, with a value of up to 14,000 US dollars, was of "yesteryear."

Boluarte said that had worked since she was 18 years old and the item was "the fruit" of her efforts. Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén responded to the allegations on Monday and said that it was "the last time" he would answer a question from the press about the president's luxury watch, and said Boluarte had fully answered questions regarding the item.

Boluarte has been photographed more than 20 times wearing a Rolex in the last year, according to the presidential photographic archive. The last time was in February when she attended a ceremony in Peru's richest neighborhood, San Isidro.

"La Encerrona," which is broadcast on the Internet, reported last week that it reviewed more than 10,000 official photos from the government's freely accessible photographic archive since July 28, 2021, when Boluarte was sworn in as vice president and minister of social inclusion under then-president Pedro Castillo.

It also continued to review Boluarte's photos after she was sworn in on December 7, 2022, as president to replace Castillo. In the investigation "La Encerrona" counted that Boluarte wore at least 14 watches, highlighting the Rolex that she started to wear only in mid-2023.

As minister, Boluarte received a salary of US$ 8,136 per month, but when she assumed the presidency her income dropped to US$ 4,200 per month. The president, a 61-year-old lawyer, commented on Friday that she had entered "the government palace with clean hands and I will leave with clean hands...because it is in my DNA not to be corrupt."

In 2023, the president said from the presidential palace that during the political campaign that brought her to power, “she did not even have enough money for tickets.” Before becoming minister of social inclusion, Boluarte was a modest employee of a small district office of the National Identification Registry where she worked since 2007.

(The Associated Press)