Judge Quashes Effort to Stop Peru’s Ex-President From Leaving Country During Criminal Probe

A Peruvian judge declined a request to restrict former President Dina Boluarte from leaving the country while prosecutors investigate her for corruption and money laundering, Reuters reported.

Judge Fernando Valdez ruled the prosecutorial petition was “unfounded,” saying Boluarte did not present a flight risk.

The decision allows the ex-leader to travel as investigations move forward into whether she took money from a criminal group, steered health-sector appointments connected to a 2023 rhinoplasty and abandoned her post for two weeks during that procedure without notifying Congress, the news agency said.

She is also under scrutiny over the origins of a collection of luxury Rolex watches.

Speculation that Boluarte might seek asylum swirled last week as crowds gathered outside Ecuador’s embassy in Lima on the night of her ouster, though no asylum request materialized, according to the report.

Peru remains mired in political turmoil, Reuters said. The country has cycled through seven presidents in seven years, three former leaders are in jail, and more than half of the country’s Congress is under investigation by prosecutors.