Former Peru President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who resigned this week over allegations he was involved in the continent-wide Carwash bribery scandal, has been barred from leaving the country, the prosecutor’s office said on Twitter.
Prosecutors Hamilton Castro and Sergio Jimenez signed the order as their colleagues searched two of the ex-leader’s homes in and around Lima, the South American nation’s capital, according to a second tweet. The order stops Kuczynski from traveling abroad for 18 months and his passport has been rescinded, AP reported.
Congress accepted Kuczynski’s resignation on Friday after he stood down hours before a second impeachment vote. Kuczynski, a 79-year-old Wall Street veteran and former finance minister, had beaten a first attempt at impeachment in December after facing allegations that a company he owned took money from Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA, which doled out hundreds of millions in bribes across the region.
Former President Alberto Fujimori fled to Japan when his term ended in 2000 as he faced accusations of corruption and human rights abuses. More recently, another ex-leader, Alejandro Toledo, was believed to have fled to the U.S. and then was stopped from boarding a flight to Israel, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Peru, in February 2017. Toledo was also embroiled in the Odebrecht scandal.
“Peru since the 19th century has watched the sad show as presidents and ex-presidents flee the country and justice,” Castro told AP. “This is the historical behavior that we seekers of justice have to take into account.”
Former First Vice President Martin Vizcarra has replaced Kuczynski.