Pedro Castillo Terrones, 53, who was removed from his post as President of Peru yesterday and arrested for trying to shut down Congress, has been subject to an investigation by the Peruvian Public Ministry since he took power in 2021.
-also six preliminary inquiries He did not even spare some members of the family he was targeting, such as his older sister, two nephews and sister-in-law. Investigations regarding his relationship with an alleged criminal organization, a dominant ex-minister money in bathroom????????
Investigations are led by the Nation’s Attorney General, Patricia Benavides. accuses Castillo of leading a criminal network “settled in government to seize, control and manipulate recruitment processes for illegal gain”.
What does the overthrown president say?
- Castillo denies his family involvement in the crimes and claims he was the victim of a campaign to “remove him from power”.
- He claims the investigation is “the execution of a new form of coup” in the country.
The dollars in Castillo’s bathroom cabinet. The Government Palace, which is already within sight of the Public Ministry, was stunned by the researchers’ visit in November last year.
The target was the office of the presidential secretary, Bruno Pacheco, near Castillo.
Pacheco produced documents and authorized a search of his office. Suspected of benefiting companies sympathetic to the government, the secretary would also seek irregular promotions of members of the Armed Forces in another investigation against the former president.
The MP’s biggest surprise was to find $20,000 hidden in the bathroom of Pacheco’s office. He stated that money is part of his personal savings and salary.
Congresswoman Patrícia Chirinos, who sought signatures to impeach Castillo, tweeted shortly after hearing the news:
“Urgent. A raid by the Prosecutor’s Office on the Government House found $20,000 in cash from the secretary of President Pedro Castillo. Why wasn’t the precautionary arrest of Bruno Pacheco requested? They wanted proof, here it is.”
What about the ex-president’s family?
He searches the house of Castillo’s sister. In October, the lawmaker conducted several searches of homes allegedly linked to crime, including the home of the president’s sister, Gloria Castillo Terrones, in San Juan de Lurigancho, a crowded neighborhood of the capital Lima.
The prosecutor said investigators had found “very serious and revealing signs” of the alleged existence of the criminal network, but has not disclosed which ones so far.
The president at the time protested on Twitter: “The Public Ministry broke into my sister’s house. My mother is there. This harassment affected her health. I hold the National Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for my mother’s health.“, He wrote.
The nephews of the deposed president fled. The president’s two nephews, Fray Vásquez Castillo and Gian Marco Castillo Gómez, who were accused of profiting from the concession of a bridge project in northern Peru, were the target of a search and seizure while fleeing in May. They would be on the arm of the gang at the Ministry of Transport, one of the main targets of the investigations.
According to the prosecution, Castillo and former Transport Minister Juan Silva (again, a fugitive) supported businessmen in awarding public contracts in exchange for irregular payments.
His sister-in-law was arrested. The network, which is allegedly managed by Castillo, is said to be trying to profit from public contracts of the Ministry of Housing in his hometown of Chota. The case ended with the arrest of his sister-in-law, Yenifer Paredes, in August. He was caught on the air of a television show running the cleaning business with a local businessman.
Peru’s First Lady, Lilia Paredes, and her two brothers, Walter and David, are also being investigated in the same process. The Attorney General asked the judge to ban them from leaving the country for three years.
Explore the six preliminary inquiries Castillo has responded to:
Hiding people. In July, the prosecutor launched an investigation against Castillo for allegedly hiding persons wanted by Justice. Benavides Vargas accuses the former president of changing the duties of members of the teams to search for fugitives linked to him.
Impact Trading. Subsequently, Benavides Vargas resumed investigations into crimes against public administration and influence trading in the purchase of biodiesel in favor of Heaven Petroleum Operators SA.
Fraudulent offer. The former president is suspected of leading a criminal organization that facilitated a tender won by the Puente Tarata III Consortium at the heart of the Ministry of Transport. Juan Silva Villegas, former Minister of Transport and Communications, alongside Castillo’s nephews in the investigations; Bruno Pacheco Castillo, former secretary of the palace; and businessman Zamir Villaverde García.
Irregular appointments Castillo is also accused of carrying out irregular promotions of military personnel in the Armed Forces and officers in the Peruvian National Police.
Crime against public order. The former president was to commit a crime against public order in the form of a “criminal organisation”. Castillo would be the “leader of the network” who would coordinate the transfer of public works to the construction companies supposedly subordinate to the president.
Plagiarism in a master’s thesis. Pedro Castillo and his wife Lilia Paredes were investigated for alleged plagiarism in the master’s thesis they presented together at César Vallejo University in 2012.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.