Former president of the Council of Ministers of the government of Martín Vizcarra will go to prison for Odebrecht case

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(CNN) - A judge from Peru issued 18 months of preventive detention against César Villanueva, former president of the Council of Ministers of the President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra. Villanueva is suspected of receiving bribes from the Brazilian company Odebrecht when he was governor of the San Martin region between 2007 and 2013. The former congressman also denies the charges against him.

Villanueva says he never received money from Odebrecht, says that the work was done and finished in the best conditions and defending the interests of the national treasury, without giving Odebretch any privilege.

• Vizcarra decides on the arrest of César Villanueva, former president of the Council of Ministers

The president of Peru, Martín Vizcarra (on the left) with his then chief of staff César Villanueva, during a ceremony at the Government Palace in Lima, on April 2, 2018. (Credit: CRIS BOURONCLE / AFP via Getty Images )

The request for pretrial detention was made by the prosecutor who investigates César Villanueva for the crimes of unfair collusion, unlawful association and improper use of the charge. The former president of the council of ministers has not been transferred to a prison because he is in a clinic. His lawyer, Segismundo Suárez, says that his state of health is delicate.

After the preliminary arrest of César Villanueva on November 26, President Martín Vizcarra said: “They ask us to pronounce ourselves on the latest events, but is there anything in doubt? We said it many times, and I repeat it today: the fight against corruption is a fundamental axis for this government, and that struggle is whoever falls, even if it is a high official of this government ”.

While he was a parliamentarian, Villanueva was always in favor of the vacancy of former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski who resigned from the presidency in March 2018 accused of having lied to the country about his relationship with the Odebrecht company.

After the resignation of Kuczynski, the still Congressman César Villanueva was appointed president of the Council of Ministers by Martín Vizcarra, who assumed as president. President Vizcarra, along with César Villanueva, led the anti-corruption offensive.

A day after the arrest of Cesar Villanueva on Tuesday 26, Peru's former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wrote on his Twitter account: “The turns that life gives. César Villanueva, a regular promoter of my vacancy, accusing me of acts of corruption without any evidence. However, I forgive. I feel very sad and wish him well, ”he published on the social network.

Case of Odebrecht Peru