Peru president blasts Rolex scandal amid probe, but admits some error

FILE PHOTO: Peru’s President Dina Boluarte attends the Leaders Retreat at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

By Marco Aquino

LIMA (Reuters) -Peru’s president slammed a scandal over her use of luxury watches and pricey designer jewelry on Friday, saying the items were loaned to her, she did admit exercising bad judgment, a week after police raided her home and office on suspicion of corruption.

The scandal marked the latest political crisis for President Dina Boluarte, who took over after her predecessor was removed from office and jailed, and has struggled to boost a sluggish economy which was once one of South America’s star performers.

Earlier this week, she replaced nearly a third of her ministers following abrupt resignations, which included the interior minister, who oversees the national police.

Boluarte faced questioning by prosecutors for nearly five hours earlier on Friday, focusing on allegations of illicit enrichment over how she obtained several Rolex watches and other jewelry that seemed at odds with her modest public salary.

In comments from the national palace after her closed-door testimony, she said all the watches except one were lent to her by a friend who she said hoped they would reflect well on the country if she wore them.

“It was an error to accept as a loan those watches from my friend,” she said, adding she had already returned those she borrowed.

Regarding allegations she owned a pricey designer bracelet and necklace, she said the items in question were less expensive costume jewelry she purchased years ago.

Deriding the investigation as a “lie” and a “smoke screen,” she urged prosecutors to be more professional.

The president escaped the start of impeachment proceedings on Thursday after Congress rejected two motions put forward by leftist lawmakers, largely thanks to support from conservative and right-wing politicians who say they want to avoid another crisis.

Boluarte, sworn in as president by Congress, was a former vice president to the democratically elected ex-President Pedro Castillo, a leftist who was ousted in 2022. Last year, she sought unsuccessfully to move up elections in a bid to calm tensions after facing fierce protests that left dozens dead, with many casualties from marginalized indigenous communities.

She faces a separate ongoing investigation over her role in those deaths.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Aurora Ellis and David Alire Garcia)