Investigation into government corruption expands in Peru.
| Autor | Jana, Elsa Chanduvi |
More than 20 provincial and district mayors in Peru are facing trial or have been sentenced for crimes of corruption, as the number of corruption cases under investigation by the country's justice system has increased by 60% in the past three years.
"I believe that if anything is efficient in Peru, it is corruption," said Ombudsman Walter Gutierrez during a press conference with foreign correspondent in May.
The number of investigations went from 20,563 in 2013 to 32,925 by the end of 2016, Gutierrez said as he presented his first report on corruption and announced the creation of an anti-corruption attache at the ombudsman's office.
Gutierrez said annual losses from corruption amount to 12 billion soles (approximately US $3.63 billion) according to figures compiled by Peru's comptroller general. With that money, the government could finance all its social programs for two years or provide food to 1.3 million people who live in poverty for three years.
Of the thousands of cases being investigated in Peru, half relate to embezzlement or diversion of public funds and to collusion (defrauding the state in acquisitions and public contracting of goods). The third most frequent crime is bribery of a judge or public civil servant.
The greatest number of corruption cases --8,994--have taken place in district governments, while 4,985 cases are being investigated in state governments, Gutierrez said. The national police (Policia Nacional del Peru) follows with 12% of the cases, and regional governments account for 10%.
The Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht is linked to 27 of the cases under investigation (NotiSur, Aug. 14, 2015, and Jan 13, 2017) part of a bribery scandal that has become known as Lava Jato, or Operation Car Wash. Odebrecht has acknowledged having paid at least US$29 million between 2005 and 2014 in exchange for access public works contracts.
"The government has not done anything effective in the fight against corruption. The Army has neither anticorruption plans nor a budget for that," Gutierrez said.
Governors and mayors implicated
At least 14 of the country's 25 regional governors have been linked to crimes of corruption. Wilfredo Oscorima from Ayacucho was sentenced to five years for purchasing machinery and vehicles without calling for bids; he was released from prison on May 17. Enrique Vargas of Ancash was also sentenced to five years for falsifying documents; and Jaime Rodriguez of Moquegua was sentenced to four years for...
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