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Peru judge in corruption scandal is arrested
LIMA, July 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A judge at the center of a major influence
peddling scandal in Peru’s justice system has been arrested, a prosecutor
said Sunday.
Police captured Judge Walter Rios as part of an investigation after audio
recordings sparked a scandal over influence peddling and sale of sentences,
internal affairs prosecutor Jaime Velarde said on Twitter.
The audio recordings aired on investigative journalism website IDL-
Reporteros and the Panorama program on television station Canal 5.
Rios is the first judge detained in the investigation.
President Martin Vizcarra on Friday appointed a committee of six jurists
headed by ex-chancellor Allan Wagner and gave them 12 days to deliver a
judicial reform proposal.
There is a feeling of deja vu in Peru, where two ex-presidents — Alberto
Fujimori in 2000 and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in March — were brought down by
undercover audio or video recordings.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0824 hrs