Peru’s President Faces Criminal Investigation, Linked with Pedro Castillo

Image of Patricia Benavides, the head of the Peruvian Attorney General’s office, giving a speech to reporters in an event collaborating with UNODC and USAID. Image Source: EUROPAPRESS.

On Mar. 28th, 2023, Peru’s attorney general’s office announced investigations into President Dina Boluarte’s involvement in a money laundering scheme, financial crimes, and involvement in criminal organizations during Peru’s 2021 presidential election, where she ran as the vice president with ex-President Pedro Castillo as her running mate. 

The investigations were not limited to the president but also extended to the activities of, now-incarcerated Pedro Castillo, and Peruvian businessman Henry Shimabukuro. 

These new allegations come as a result of current investigations into financial crimes committed throughout the most recent Peruvian elections. According to the attorney general's office, the suspected crimes were supposedly committed during Peru Libre's electoral campaign, the Marxist party that propelled Castillo to the presidency of the Andean nation.

More specifically, Boluarte is being investigated for receiving illicit donations to her political campaigns, in this case receiving contributions in cash through bank deposits or transfers. 

These contributions were mainly made by businessman Henry Shimabukuro, a former adviser for Castillo’s presidential campaign. 

Shimabukuro revealed to local media that he contributed financially to Castillo’s and Boluarte’s presidential bids in 2021, which are now thought to be illegal donations. More specifically, claiming he funded several “flight trips and other expenses” that Boluarte had during her campaign. 

Already being investigated for corruption charges, Shimabukuro revealed to the attorney general that he had “receipts from bank transfers using his credit card, audio, photographs, and videos” linking him and Boluarte, alongside WhatsApp messages where Boluarte explicitly thanked him for plane tickets and other expenses. 

Before Shimabukuro’s comments, Boluarte had denied both receiving illegal campaign contributions and any relationship with Shimabukuro. She claimed that these allegations constituted a “political maneuver” to challenge her government.

Then-President Pedro Castillo and then-Vice President Dina Boluarte waving to cameras as they are inaugurated into government in August 2021. Image source: ElEconomista

Eduardo Recoba, a Peruvian journalist and economist, notes that three likely scenarios are to emerge following the new investigations. “Castillo may very likely be a scapegoat for criminal organizations within Peru’s ruling class, Peru Libre’s reputation may now be closely tied to the political and economic crimes in government and that Boluarte, although already suffering blows to her legitimacy, faces no real criminal charges.”

Boluarte is protected by a provision in Peru’s constitution that does not allow heads of state to be indicted until they leave office. Boluarte’s mandate ends in 2026, 5 years after the supposed crimes were committed. 

Recoba notes that “the office of the attorney general can only leverage their investigations to mitigate the power of her government.”

With these new allegations, ex-President Castillo is vulnerable to further prosecution as he still faces a gamut of investigations, including charges of corruption, traffic money laundering, being involved in criminal organizations, and plagiarism, which is a crime in Peru. 

The attorney general’s office believes that the relevant crimes were committed between “Jan. 1st, 2008 until Sept. 10, 2021, and Peru Libre’s founder, Vladimir Cerron, created the criminal organization plaguing the government within the rankings of the party. 

The prosecutors’ announcement carries substantial domestic political weight, given that Congress will soon debate the motion to remove Boularte from office. These allegations, given that  Congress is controlled by her right-wing opponents, will make it less likely for Boluarte to avoid proceedings that might remove her from office in the foreseeable future.