Fujimori Faces Two Accusations

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori will face two charges by a congressional committee investigating the case of his onetime spymaster, Vladimiro Montesinos, according to local media reports on Monday, December 4.

The first allegation claims Fujimori violated the law by deceiving the people when he left the country and sought asylum in Japan.

The second allegation is related to financial conduct which he reportedly approved. The committee said that Fujimori ratified a supreme decree to lease a MI-26 helicopter to the United Nations (UN for the purpose of peacekeeping in East Timor) on March 6.

Among the 10.491 million U.S. dollars paid by the UN for use of the helicopter, up to 8.09 million dollars were illegally siphoned into an account to Global Aviation, which is based in Switzerland instead of a state-owned Peruvian company.

According to the congressional committee, a summons has been issued for arrest of Fujimori, who is staying in Japan. The committee hopes the Japanese government will cooperate in the ensuing legal activities.

The committee also asked the Japanese government to consider the morality of the situation surrounding the Fujimori case.

Fujimori submitted his resignation while on a trip to Japan in November after he attended the eighth informal meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Brunei.

But his resignation was brushed aside by the Peruvian Congress, which, instead, sacked Fujimori on grounds of "moral incapacity" and later appointed Paniagua as the interim president.

In response to the allegations from Peru, Fujimori said during a TV interview that he is not planning to return to Peru to face the investigation. Instead, he expressed willingness to report to an investigating committee from Japan.

Fujimori also said that he is a victim of both "anti-Fujimori" sentiments and the scandals of Montesinos.

Montesinos was involved in a political scandal which partially contributed to a sudden downfall of the Fujimori regime. Montesinos was shown in a video in September bribing a congressman to gain his backing for Fujimori in the elections this May.






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