The request to prevent President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from leaving Peru will be considered as soon as Congress formally accepts his resignation, Judge Juan Carlos Sanchez Balbuena affirmed on Thursday.
The public officer explained the court cannot handle the case until Kuczynski's immunity from prosecution is lifted.
It must be noted, he said, that even though the embattled leader offered to step down on March 21, Congress still has to accept his
resignation before its publication in El Peruano official gazette.
He assured the case will be solved in the shortest possible time, once the resignation is accepted and the affected party is notified.
According to Article 117 of the Constitution, during any
presidential term, a Head of State may be accused only of treason, preventing elections, dissolving Congress —except in the cases listed in Article 134— or interfering with the election process.
The judge believes the facts for which the Prosecutor's Office is investigating the leader occurred before he took office. However, the resignation has to be accepted.
The Prosecutor's Office currently investigates Pedro Pablo Kuczynski over alleged payments by Brazilian construction company
Odebrecht to Westfield Capital and First Capital, both linked to the resigning Head of State.
Odebrecht case
As is known, the Brazilian construction giant admitted to having paid bribes worth millions of dollars to government officials in Peru in order to secure public-works contracts.
The period in question spans over three previous presidencies:
Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Alan Garcia (2006-2011), and Ollanta Humala (2011-2016).
(END) FHG/CCR/RMB/MVB
Published: 3/22/2018