Laura Gamba
02 April 2024•Update: 02 April 2024
BOGOTA, Colombia
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte's home was raided over the weekend in search of at least 10 Rolex watches she has been seen wearing since taking office and that, according to authorities, have not been declared.
A corruption investigation dubbed "Rolexgate" that got the president in trouble began on March 18 when local media revealed that she has been wearing expensive watches since taking office in December 2022.
In Peru, elected authorities must inform the government of any assets worth more than 10,300 soles (around $2,774) and report gifts received from third parties. Prosecutors argue that Boluarte did not declare these luxury items.
"The president has been formally summoned to exhibit the Rolex watches" when she gives her sworn statement on April 5, said the prosecutor's office, adding that officers had not found the watches during the raid on Saturday.
On Monday, Peruvian Interior Minister Victor Torres resigned after being questioned about the raid on Boluarte’s home.
The president said she would not resign after the operation, in which some 20 officials from the public prosecutor's office and 20 police agents were seen breaking down the door of her home in a dramatic television broadcast.
Boluarte has said she bought the Rolex watches with money she earned since she started working when she was young and requested to have her "investigative statement taken immediately in order to clarify the facts under investigation as soon as possible" and not on April 5 as planned.
She has called the measures “arbitrary, disproportionate and abusive.”
“I took office with clean hands, and thus I will retire from the presidency in 2026,” the president said.
Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen has also said that what has happened in the last few days is “disproportionate and unconstitutional.”
According to the country's constitution, if indicted in the case, Boluarte will not undergo a trial until her presidential term ends in July 2026.
