Odebrecht corruption case poses challenge to Peruvian justice

Alleged bribes paid by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to former high officials in Peru have become a true challenge for the country's justice system, said the new president of Peru's Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) on Tuesday.

This was "a challenge for the entire justice administration," Duberli Rodriguez said at a press conference on his second day in the job, referring to the charges that Odebrecht paid out around 29 million U.S. dollars between 2005 and 2014 in bribes to win public works contracts.

Rodriguez also announced that he had implemented a training program for judges specifically related to the Odebrecht case.

"We are trained to deal with all crimes, but some require more preparation," said Rodriguez, adding that he would focus on preparing judges for fighting corruption, even if they have to deal with former ministers or presidents.

He added that the enormous bribes in the complicated Odebrecht case made it a "mega-corruption case."

Odebrecht's scandal has rocked the country, as the bribes having been spread over the administrations of three former presidents: Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Alan Garcia (2006-2011) and Ollanta Humala (2011-2016).

On Dec. 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Odebrecht was suspected of paying around 788 million U.S. dollars in kickbacks in 212 countries, including Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.

In neighboring Ecuador, a court ruled Tuesday that public institutions were forbidden from signing contracts with Odebrecht.

The news was released by Ecuador's Attorney General Galo Chiriboga, who wrote on Twitter that during the government's investigation of Odebrecht, state institutions could not sign contracts with it.

source: Xinhua