LIMA, Oct 12 (NNN-ANDINA/AGENCIES) — Attorney General Patricia Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against the President of the Republic Pedro Castillo by means of a document submitted to Congress Tuesday afternoon.
Via its official Twitter account, the Public Ministry reported that the constitutional complaint is for the alleged crimes of (being part of a) criminal organization, influence peddling, and collusion.
It also involves ex-Ministers Juan Silva Villegas and Geiner Alvarado.
The complaint was delivered at 4:47 p.m. (local time) at Parliament’s reception desk.
“I file a constitutional complaint against Jose Pedro Castillo Terrones in his capacity as President of the Republic as the alleged perpetrator of crimes against public tranquility in the modality of aggravated criminal organization,” reads the document submitted to the Legislative Branch.
The Public Ministry is an autonomous body of the Peruvian State.
Parliament’s Senior Official Jose Cevasco has reported that the constitutional complaint against the top official was forwarded to the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations.
“This accusation has been forwarded to the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations for its qualification in accordance with Article 89 b of Congress’ regulations,” he said in a statement
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Castillo would be the head of a criminal organization active in the Ministry of Transport and Communications in complicity with Silva, as well as with officials of Provías Nacional and Provías Descentralizado, of the Presidential Office and businessmen and third parties, to favor the consortium Puente Tarata III and other companies in public bidding processes.
This constitutional complaint must now be evaluated by the Sub-Commission of Constitutional Accusations, presided by the former president of Congress Lady Camones (APP). If successful, the complaint will pass to the Permanent Commission and will finally be voted in the plenary, as reported by RPP radio station.
The subcommittee must appoint a congressman delegate to evaluate the complaint and present an initial report, then a hearing will be convened to hear the arguments of the parties and finally the conclusions will be presented, which will have to be submitted to a vote.
The accusation has been filed three days after two lawyers close to Castillo filed a complaint against the State Attorney General for allegedly committing a crime of personnel cover-up by changing the prosecutor who had mainly been in charge of the case investigating irregularities within the Peruvian Presidency.
Lawyers close to the Peruvian president argue that the prosecutor would have tried to obstruct and weaken the action of her institution in the framework of the investigations faced by her sisters, judges Enma and Ruth Benavides, by removing from her position the provisional supreme prosecutor Bersabeth Revilla, as reported by the newspaper ‘El Comercio’.
All in all, Pedro Castillo has six open investigations against him, five of which are being handled by the Peruvian Attorney General’s Office. — NNN-ANDINA/AGENCIES