Peru's President Dina Boluarte arrives to meet with foreign press, in Lima, Peru January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Angela Ponce
LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian prosecutors are investigating President Dina Boluarte and former president Pedro Castillo for allegedly laundering money as part of a criminal organization, the attorney general's office said on Twitter on Tuesday.
The probe into the alleged crimes by Boluarte and Castillo is part of an ongoing investigation into alleged campaign finance crimes committed during Peru's 2021 presidential race.
The announcement comes after a former adviser to Castillo told local media that he had financed part of Castillo's presidential campaign in 2021, as well as trips for Boluarte when she was running to be Castillo's vice president.
"The alleged commission of these crimes would have occurred during the electoral campaign of Peru Libre," the attorney general's office said, referencing the Marxist party that led Castillo to the presidency of the Andean country.
Castillo was removed from office in December after attempting to dissolve Congress before an impeachment vote. Boluarte ascended to the presidency in the wake of his removal and arrest.
Boluarte over the weekend denied receiving illegal campaign contributions and said corruption accusations were a "political maneuver" seeking to undermine her government.
Boluarte is also currently under investigation for her alleged role in the deaths of protesters killed in clashes with security forces in the months after she took office.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima and Brendan O'Boyle in Mexico City; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Michael Perry)
