Peru prosecutor seeks disqualification of presidential candidate over financial disclosures
The public prosecutor’s office has accused the leftist candidate of receiving undisclosed funds, seeking a prison sentence and permanent ban from office.
Peru’s public prosecutor has formally charged presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez with financial crimes, alleging he filed false disclosures regarding campaign contributions between 2018 and 2020. The charges, unsealed on Tuesday, come shortly after electoral authorities confirmed Sanchez advanced to the presidential run-off against Keiko Fujimori, scheduled for 7 June.
Prosecutors allege that Sanchez and his brother, William Sanchez, received more than 280,000 Peruvian soles in contributions and membership fees that were not declared in the party’s financial filings with the National Office of Electoral Processes. In addition to the undisclosed funds, the office accuses Sanchez of making false statements in administrative proceedings.
The legal action seeks a prison sentence of five years and four months, alongside a permanent disqualification from holding the office of president for the Juntos por el Peru party. The allegations centre on the period when Sanchez was the party’s candidate, raising questions about compliance with electoral finance regulations during previous campaigns.
Sanchez’s legal team has rejected the accusations. His lawyer told local outlet RPP that responsibility for the financial filings lay with the party treasurer, not the candidate himself. The defence maintains that Sanchez was not directly involved in the preparation of the documents now under scrutiny by prosecutors.
A judge is scheduled to decide on 27 May whether the case will proceed to trial. The timing of the charges coincides with the final stages of vote counting from the first-round election. With 99.76 percent of ballots counted, Fujimori held 17.17 percent of the vote, while Sanchez stood at 12 percent, narrowly ahead of ultra-conservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga at 11.91 percent.
Sanchez is running with the backing of jailed former President Pedro Castillo. The outcome of the judicial review will determine whether the charges impact his eligibility to appear on the ballot for the 7 June run-off, a decision that remains pending before the courts.
