Lima .- A judge began evaluating in Peru this Wednesday a request from the Prosecutor’s Office for the current leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez, who will compete in the second round of the presidential election with the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, to be brought to trial for allegedly having presented false information about contributions and party financing between the years 2018 and 2020.
For this case, which is in charge of the Thirty-Third Preparatory Investigation Court of Lima, the Prosecutor’s Office requests a sentence of five years and four months in prison for the candidate, for the alleged diversion to personal accounts of some 280,000 soles (about 58,651 dollars) of electoral financing funds from the Juntos por el Perú party.
During the first hearing this Wednesday, in which Sánchez participated telematically, Judge Adolfo Farfán clarified that he had not yet installed the view of the fiscal request and the arguments of the defense because he first had to resolve a series of appeals presented by those involved.
He also confirmed that in September of last year, the main accusation against Sánchez was dropped, for the crime of fraud in the administration of a legal entity, which is punishable by sentences of 2 to 5 years in prison.
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He added that the review of charges for alleged falsification of information on contributions, which implies sentences of 2 to 6 years in prison, and false declaration in administrative proceedings, with penalties of 1 to 4 years in prison, remains in force.
Awaiting a Decision on the Trial
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Sánchez and others, including his brother William Ricardo Sánchez, of having failed to report economic movements and presenting false information about the income of his party to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE).
Regarding this, Sánchez’s lawyer, Carlos García, requested during the hearing that it be certified that the Prosecutor’s Office has complied with adapting the terms of the accusation since, as he said, the request for alleged fraud was still maintained.
The judge reported that he will continue reviewing the case from 3:30 PM (8:30 PM GMT) on June 4th, where he must resolve other requests from the defense before hearing the arguments on the request for indictment and deciding whether to order the start of a trial against the leftist candidate.
Sánchez, who is participating in these elections representing the imprisoned former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), will compete in the second round of the presidential election on June 7 with the daughter and political heir of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).
