Fujimori hit by money laundering probe before Peru election

May 21, 2016 09:04 am | Updated September 12, 2016 07:42 pm IST - Lima

In this May 10, 2016 file photo, presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori campaigns in the San Juan de Lurigancho shantytown on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, ahead of elections in June.

In this May 10, 2016 file photo, presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori campaigns in the San Juan de Lurigancho shantytown on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, ahead of elections in June.

Prosecutors in Peru are investigating presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori and her American husband for alleged money laundering.

The preliminary probe was opened quietly in March but only became known on Friday in a report by Lima—based newspaper El Comercio . It was later confirmed by Peru’s chief prosecutor’s office.

Specifically, authorities are looking into a series of suspicious financial transactions and campaign contributions worth nearly $1 million.

Ms. Fujimori called the accusations baseless and aimed at boosting her opponent, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, just two weeks before Peruvians go to the polls in what’s expected to be a tight contest.

News of the probe comes just two days after a congressman close to Ms. Fujimori resigned from his post as secretary general of her Popular Force party over an unrelated money laundering investigation.

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