Investigating the ruling Peru Libre party for possible money laundering

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(CNN Spanish) -

On August 6, the Peruvian Prosecutor's Office included the Peru Libre party, with which President Pedro Castillo was elected, in an investigation for money laundering, a source from that attorney general's office told CNN.

Also included in this investigation were Guido Bellido, president of the Council of Ministers of Peru, and Vladimir Cerrón, founder and national secretary general of Peru Libre, according to the same source.

CNN contacted Guido Bellido, president of the Council of Ministers, who replied: "that the matter be investigated."

He denied the prosecution's accusations.

We have tried to contact Vladimir Cerrón, without success so far.

However, on his Twitter account he said this Wednesday, in response to the news of another investigation, "The dynamics of the center": "Peru Libre is a totally clean organization from its genesis, a tool for the people to free themselves, it is not an organization criminal.

It becomes a threat to the system after the second round of elections.

The people know it ”.

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The objective of the prosecution's investigation is to determine the origin of the money that financed the presidential electoral campaign of Pedro Castillo and others in which Peru Libre participated.

This case joins other high-profile investigations in Peru such as those against Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala.

The tax theory in both cases holds that as former candidates they allegedly received money from the Odebrecht company during their campaigns.

Both have denied the accusations against them, but their innocence or guilt will have to be determined in trials that are still pending.

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The origins of the case

The investigation that seeks to determine the origin of the money with which the Peru Libre campaigns were financed was born from another one known as “Los dynammicos del centro”, which has been carried out in Junín since 2019, when Vladimir Cerrón was governor of that region.

The crime investigated is possible corruption of officials and the local Prosecutor's Office raises the existence of a network linked to the payment of bribes for the granting of driver's licenses.

Tax theory holds that this money would have been used by the party in its proselytizing activities.

Cerrón denies the existence of that network.

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On July 4, on his Facebook account, Vladimir Cerrón wrote about the case and titled it "Dynamics of the center, persecution with the face of legality." He added that “the mafia in the granting of driver's licenses must be the oldest and most current form of corruption in the country. We do not defend it, we fight it and we despise it ”.

To determine if that money was used in the Peru Libre campaigns, the second investigation was opened, this time national and for possible money laundering.

This inquiry includes the ruling party, the president of the Council of Ministers Guido Bellido and the founder of the party, Vladimir Cerrón.

The Prosecutor's Office also seeks to know if this money would also have been used in legal expenses of Vladimir Cerrón, who as governor of Junín had already been sentenced in 2019 to four years in prison suspended in another process for incompatible negotiation by the Judicial Power.

A few days ago, the Prosecutor's Office requested to revoke the suspension of the sentence and make it effective.

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“This campaign has been made by the people.

I discard all those things.

In any case, if it is said that an investigation has to be carried out, let it be done right now, "the then candidate Castillo told local media at the beginning of July.

The role of Vladimir Cerrón

The investigation began a month ago and is headed, in the first instance, by the prosecutor Richard Rojas of the corporate supraprovincial prosecutor's office specializing in money laundering crimes.

In addition to Cerrón and Bellido, that office extended the investigation to 19 other people, including several leaders of the Peru Libre party.

In the second instance, the case is being handled by the superior prosecutor Rafael Vela, coordinator of the Special Prosecutor's Offices in money laundering crimes and the coordinating superior prosecutor of the Lava Jato Special Team, in charge of the investigations involving the Odebrecht company in Peru.

Various political analysts and opposition parties point to Cerrón as having great influence in the Castillo government and adjudicate many of the decisions to him.

For this reason, the appointment of Bellido as president of the Council of Ministers was interpreted as the triumph of the most radical wing of Peru Libre, linked to the founder of the party.

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The president of the Council of Ministers is also being investigated by the Public Ministry for the alleged crime of apology to terrorism. Bellido has denied being linked to any terrorist group, but his appointment generated great controversy in the country and determined the beginning of the marches against the government.