MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian prosecutors want Keiko Fujimori sentenced to 35 years in jail

The “cocktail case” is named after the defense's claim that funds were raised through a series of cocktail parties

Peruvian Lava Jato prosecutor José Domingo Pérez submitted a filing Wednesday requesting a 35-year prison sentence for former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, in a revised criminal indictment in the so-called “cocktail case,” which investigates the alleged irregular financing of her 2011 and 2016 election campaigns. In a previous proceeding ending up in a mistrial in April this year, a 30-year sentence had been sought.

Fujimori faces criminal organization, aggravated money laundering, false statements in administrative proceedings, and generic falsehood charges.

The indictment also includes several other individuals linked to Fujimori and her Fuerza Popular party, such as former party leaders and her ex-husband, Mark Vito Villanella.

The Public Prosecutor's Office also requested the dismissal of 19 other suspects. The case will now proceed to an indictment review stage before a judge decides whether to open a new trial.

The “cocktail case” is named after the defense's claim that funds were raised through a series of cocktail parties, while prosecutors contend that illicit donations were involved, including many from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and several Peruvian corporations, which were disguised through these fundraising events.

In addition to Villanella, Pérez's list of suspects includes Ana Cecilia Matsuno, Giancarlo Bertini, Hugo Tasayco, Juan Carlos Luna, Luis Mejía, Rafael Herrera, Pier Figari, Ana Rosa Herz, Jaime Yoshiyama, José Chlimper, Adriana Tarazona, and Augusto Bedoya.