The Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office on May 13 formally charged left-wing presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez with financial crimes, seeking a sentence of 5 years and 4 months in prison.
The charges were announced just hours after electoral authorities confirmed Sanchez was on track to advance to the second round of the presidential election, scheduled for June 7.
According to the newspaper El Comercio, prosecutors accused Sanchez, the candidate of the Juntos por el Peru party, of submitting false financial reports to the National Office of Electoral Processes regarding campaign contributions during the 2018-2020 period.
Prosecutors said Sanchez and his brother William Sanchez received over 280,000 Peruvian soles (approximately $81,720) from contributions and membership fees, but never declared them in the party's financial records. Sanchez is also accused of making false statements in administrative procedures.
In addition to imprisonment, prosecutors requested a permanent ban on Sanchez holding the presidency for the Juntos por el Peru party, according to El Comercio.
Sanchez's lawyer rejected the accusations, telling RPP radio that the party's treasurer, not Sanchez, was responsible for the party's financial reports.
A judge is expected to decide on May 27 whether the case will go to trial.
The charges come as vote counting from last month's first round shows Sanchez heading into a second-round showdown with conservative rival Keiko Fujimori. With 99.76% of votes counted, Fujimori, daughter of late President Alberto Fujimori and a four-time presidential candidate, leads with 17.17%. Sanchez, backed by detained former President Pedro Castillo, has 12%, narrowly ahead of ulta-conservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga at 11.91%, a margin of about 15,000 votes. Final results are expected on May 15.
