Peru: Rolex watches “burn” President, Dina Bolwarte

His president, Dina Bolwarte, is in trouble, who is invited to present to the prosecution the expensive watches she owns as part of an investigation into illegal enrichment. Peru’s president’s residence was investigated after midnight Friday to Saturday in the context of the investigation, involving expensive Rolex watches whose acquisition she allegedly did not include in her property statements. “The president of the Republic was formally invited to present the Rolex watches and testify Friday, April 5th,” the prosecutor noted in a press release he released yesterday Sunday. She clarified that during the investigations at her residence and at the government mansion, the expensive clocks were not located and the presidency did not deliver them. However, the prosecution noted that it proceeded to confiscate “other elements of interest in the investigation”. Peruvian media explained that documents were found revealing the date of purchase of one of the watches. In her address to the nation, Bolwarte denounced the investigation at her residence, which was in itself “insolent, disproportionate, abusive”, but also “unconstitutional”, referring to “systemic persecution” against her. Bolwarte’s defense said the police found some watches when they searched the government seat. Lawyer Mateo Castanieda said that “these are nice watches, but I cannot say how many of them are Rolex”. The “Rolex scandal” broke out after Peruvian news website, La Encerrona, began posting on 15 March a series of photographs in which President Bolwarte is depicted wearing luxury watches in 2021 and 2022, while a member of the government. On 19 March, the Attorney General announced that a preliminary investigation has begun against the president for “illegal enrichment” and not a statement “the acquisition of Rolex watches”. In response, Bolwarte assured that she has “clean hands” and that she has only one watch, some age, purchased with her savings. “I entered the government mansion with clean hands and will leave with clean hands, as I have promised the Peruvian people,” he insisted. Investigation into genocide and serial homicides The president, 61 years old, was already facing a much heavier investigation, for “genocide”, “serial homicides with aggravating circumstances” and “provoking serious physical harm”, due to the deaths of over 50 people in the months of riots that followed her inauguration in December 2022. Dina Bolwarte became Peru’s caretaker president after Congress ceased and the arrest by the police of Pedro Castillo’s predecessor, elected by a party of the radical left, whose vice president was. At the beginning of the month, the president was forced to replace Prime Minister Albert Otarola, who submitted his resignation following the initiation of an investigation against him for exercising undue influence over an exchange, following the revelation of a telephone conference that exposed him from an information medium. The president’s close associate, formerly Minister of Defence, was a member of the government since December 2022. Bolwarte has repeatedly ruled out any possibility of quitting. Should criminal proceedings be brought against her, the President, under the Constitution, shall be tried only after July 2026, after her term of office has been completed.