Peru launches investigation into president for disbanding police that ordered his brother’s imprisonment – JURIST

The Attorney General’s Office of Peru announced An investigation was launched on Friday into President Dina Boluarte’s decision to disband a special police unit that was investigating her brother, who was arrested earlier in the day.

The office stated that a preliminary investigation was initiated against President Boluarte and Interior Minister Walter Ortiz over the issuance of Ministerial Resolution No. 0610-2024-IN, which deactivated the Special Police Support Team of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Corruption in Power (EFICCOP). . The office explained that the lawsuit concerns alleged offenses against the administration of justice in the form of personal concealment under Article 404 of the Penal Code and an offense against public administration in the form of abuse of office under Article 376 of the Penal Code.

The resolution released Thursday and signed by Ortiz said that since the mission of the supporting police team is to support the actions carried out by EFICCOP, there will be a “duplication of functions, efforts and resources” compared to the department for highly complex investigations by the Peruvian National Police (DIVIAC). DIVIAC led the raid on the president’s residence earlier this year amid the Rolex scandal in April.

The uproar over the deactivation arose because the special team was assisting EFFICOP in confidential investigations involving various people linked to the public service. Among them is the investigation “The Waykis in the Shadows” against the president’s brother, Nicanor Boluarte, who was allegedly involved in a corruption network and maintained his innocence when he was transferred to Lima Prefecture. Boluarte’s lawyer was also arrested in the same case and is said to have sought effective cooperation after his detention. The support team also led Operation Valkyrie II, in which seven people were arrested in connection with complaints against former Attorney General Patricia Benavides.

In addition, a few days before the arrest of Nicanor Boluarte and the deactivation of the special group, media reported that the head of DIVAC, Franco Moreno, was summoned by the President to request information about the investigation against her brother.

The formalization of the pre-trial follows the statements of Attorney General Juan Carlos Villena Campana, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the measure and called for the reinstatement of the police team supporting the work of EFICCOP. In a speech on Friday morning, he said: “They want to thwart the State Department’s investigation.”