Although he tried very hard to get out of it and although is he is not accused of any wrongdoing, Mariano Rajoy has testified in court this morning (Wednesday) making him the very first Spanish Prime Minister ever to do so.

His appearance is in relation to “The Gurtel Case”, Spain’s biggest ever corruption scandal, a trial that involves 37 defendants, including 3 former PP Treasurers, and over 300 witnesses, and one which involves the relationship between business and politics during Spain’s construction boom, which ended when the property bubble finally exploded in 2008.

Rajoy has been summoned because the affair centres round a former businessman, Francisco Correa, who liked to be called Don Vito, after a character in The Godfather, and who is considered to be the mastermind behind the bribes-for-contracts network, a large corruption scheme that has been affecting the PP since 2009.

Mariano Rajoy became leader of the Partido Popular in 2004 prior to which he held many senior positions in the party. During his appearance in court he insisted he had no friendly relations with Correa and “never dealt with party financial matters”.

The prosecution claims that during the pre-2008 property boom, companies gave former PP lawmakers and civil servants kickbacks in return for contracts.

Earlier in the year, Correa and two top aides were found guilty in connection with a section of the Gürtel case known as Fitur that involved embezzlement, influence peddling, bribery of public officials and conspiracy in the Valencia region. They were sentenced to prison terms of 13 years each.

Meanwhile, outside the court, over 30 protesters blew whistles and held placards demanding “Justice” and “Make the PP illegal”. </s> Police in Peru has arrested Keiko Fujimori, opposition leader and daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori, for alleged money laundering involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, according to her lawyer.

The 43-year-old was arrested on the orders of prosecutors investigating suspect contributions to her election campaign, her lawyer Giuliana Loza said.

Fujimori was detained when she arrived at the state prosecutor's office to give evidence in the case, under Peru's Organized Crime Law, according to an official document seen by Reuters news agency.

She was placed in preventive detention for 10 days, said Loza, who described the arrest as "an outrage and an abuse".

Fujimori leads the powerful conservative opposition party, Popular Force, which has a majority in Congress and was key to helping topple former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a corruption scandal in March.

At least 19 others have been arrested in the case linked to contributions to the Popular Force during Fujimori's 2011 presidential campaign.

"She has placed herself at the disposal of the prosecutor's office," Loza said on Wednesday.

Since June, prosecutors have been investigating allegations that three former presidents took bribes disguised as campaign funds from Odebrecht, which is at the centre of political scandals across Latin America.

Former presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Alan Garcia and Alejandro Toledo all took undeclared campaign contributions in exchange for pledges to have the Brazilian construction giant win local tenders, prosecutors said.

Fujimori's arrest comes a week after her 80-year-old father's presidential pardon for crimes against humanity was revoked by a top court.

Following his extradition to Peru in 2007, Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for commanding death squads that massacred civilians in a counterinsurgency campaign during his right-wing government. He was later found guilty of corruption.

Keiko Fujimori's legal troubles could help President Martin Vizcarra, who threatened to dissolve Congress last month to pressure the opposition to pass his proposed judicial and political reforms.

A twice-defeated presidential candidate, Fujimori has led the Popular Force since her father was imprisoned in 2007. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, at the Nationalist Party HQ in Lima on Thursday

The former president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have turned themselves in after a judge ordered that they be placed in pre-trial detention.

They face 18 months of detention while money-laundering charges are prepared.

The accusations stem from Brazil's expansive anti-corruption probe, known as Operation Car Wash.

The couple, who co-founded the left-wing Peruvian Nationalist Party, have denied the charges.

Mr Humala tweeted: "This [detention] confirms an abuse of power, which we will face in defence of our rights and the rights of all."

Peru's prosecutor's office made the request on Tuesday, and a judge ruled in its favour on Thursday.

The couple have been under investigation for three years for allegedly accepting money from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to bankroll Mr Humala's election campaigns.

He is also accused of taking money from late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavéz.

Prosecutor Germán Juaréz accused Mr Humala of "morally wounding society" by running on a campaign that used "illicit money".

The prosecution also said it feared the pair would flee the country unless they were jailed.

Earlier this year, the same judge, Richard Concepción, ordered the pre-trial detention of another of Peru's former presidents, Alejandro Toledo, over bribery allegations, but he refused to turn himself in. He is now believed to be in the United States.

Mr Humala ruled Peru from 2011 to 2016.

He was an ally of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who this week was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for corruption, also resulting from Operation Car Wash.

The Brazilian investigations have unearthed what is dubbed as the biggest national corruption scandal of all time, leading to allegations against many of the continent's most famous politicians.

Former presidents Ricardo Martinelli, from Panama, and Mauricio Funes, from El Salvador, are among those who have also been accused of benefiting from bribes.

Brazil's current president, Michel Temer, is currently waiting to hear if a bribery case against him will get to the country's Supreme Court. </s> Judge orders Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, be held for up to 18 months while they are investigated for graft.

Peru's former president and his wife have been taken into custody after a judge ordered them detained while prosecutors prepare charges against them for alleged money laundering.

Soon after the judge issued his order on Thursday night, Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia were driven to the courthouse under a heavy police escort.

Judge Richard Concepcion ordered them held for up to 18 months while they are investigated.

The ruling marked the second time that the judge has mandated jail time for an ex-president since a massive graft scandal in neighbouring Brazil rippled into Peru.

Prosecutor German Juarez cited testimony from former executives of Brazilian builder Odebrecht to accuse the couple of taking $3m in illegal campaign funds during the 2011 presidential election.

READ MORE: The scandal and tragedy of Lula's corruption conviction

Juarez also accused the pair of taking undeclared funds from the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez during a previous, unsuccessful presidential bid.

"Here's a president who rose to the presidency and governed us with an electoral campaign built on illicit money. That's serious because it morally wounds society," Juarez said.

Humala, a former military officer who led Peru from 2011 to 2016, turned himself in with Heredia, the co-founder of his nationalist party, immediately after the ruling. Both denied wrongdoing and called their pre-trial detention unfair.

As they headed to the courthouse, Humala said in a Tweet: "This confirms the abuse of power which we will confront in defense of our rights and those of everyone."

Prosecutors filed the petition for the couple's detention earlier in the week, arguing they might flee Peru to evade justice.

In February, Judge Concepcion had ordered the arrest of another former Peruvian president, Alejandro Toledo, for related charges. Toledo is in the US fighting attempts by Peruvian authorities to have him deported to answer the charges.

Authorities across Latin America have been moving to charge officials accused of taking some $800m in bribes from Odebrecht. The company acknowledged the bribes when it signed a plea agreement in December with the US Justice Department.

The bribes include some $29m paid in Peru for projects built during the administrations of Toledo, Humala and former President Alan Garcia.

The same scandal has ensnared former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was convicted on Wednesday and sentenced to almost 10 years in jail for taking gifts from another Brazilian builder that along with Odebrecht paid bribes to politicians in exchange for government contracts.

Silva denies the accusation and will remain free while he appeals what he says are politically motivated charges. </s> Spanish PM Rajoy heads to court as witness in corruption trial

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy holds a book written by Venezuelan jailed politician, Leopoldo Lopez as he attends a meeting with his relatives at the Moncloa palace in Madrid on March 1, 2016. — Reuters picMADRID, July 26 — Mariano Rajoy will today become Spain’s first sitting prime minister to be called to court as he appears as a witness in a long-running graft trial that has rocked his conservative party and hurt him at the ballot box.

Rajoy returned to power for a second term last October with a severely diminished mandate, after a series of corruption scandals tainted several members of his People’s Party (PP) and turned off voters.

The prime minister’s court appearance turns the spotlight back on one of the most prominent cases at a delicate time for Rajoy, who no longer enjoys a majority in parliament and has to scrape together votes to get laws through.

He had sought to testify by videoconference, arguing that the journey to the court of San Fernando de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid would be a waste of taxpayer money. But the request was denied by Spain’s High Court.

The trial follows a long graft investigation into several city councils which are alleged to have received illegal financing from a network of companies.

Known in Spanish as the “Gurtel” case, after the nickname of supposed mastermind and businessman Francisco Correa, the probe ended up reaching several former high-ranking PP members and drew attention to an alleged party slush fund.

Former PP party treasurer, Luis Barcenas, is among those on trial on charges of organised crime, falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes.

Rajoy is expected to be grilled about the alleged slush fund and his knowledge of party business in the early 2000s, when he held several senior positions in the PP.

He has previously denied receiving any illegal funds.

The prime minister has sought to distance himself over the years from this probe and other corruption scandals, but his turn as a witness is likely to be seized upon by opposition parties who have repeatedly called for him to step down.

That is unlikely to have any immediate consequences — left-wing parties including the Socialists and Podemos (“We Can”) have failed in their bids to oust Rajoy before, as they lack the clout in parliament and are divided on many fronts.

But it could still be damaging for the prime minister and his party.

“Corruption issues will continue to put a ceiling on the PP’s electoral aspirations,” Antonio Barroso, deputy director of research at Teneo Intelligence said in a note.

“While Rajoy should be benefiting from (Spain’s) strong economic rebound, the ruling party has been losing support in the polls recently.” — Reuters </s> Peruvian opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, has been arrested as part of an investigation into accusations of money laundering linked to her 2011 presidential campaign.

Fujimori was detained when she arrived at the state prosecutor's office to testify in the case, which was brought under Peru's Organised Crime Law, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The document stated that Fujimori's 2011 Fuerza party, now called Fuerza Popular (Popular Force), received "illicit contributions through acts of corruption by Brazilian business group Odebrecht."

Building conglomerate Odebrecht has been at the center of Latin America's biggest graft scandal since acknowledging in a late 2016 leniency deal that it had bribed officials in a dozen countries, including Peru.

Fujimori will be detained for 10 days, along with 19 other people, including two former ministers from her father's government, according to her lawyer, Giuliana Loza.

Loza told local radio station RPP that the decision to arrest Fujimori had been "abusive and arbitrary."

"There is not a jot of evidence against her," she said.

Popular Force has a majority in Congress and was key to helping topple former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a graft scandal in March.

Last week, a pardon granted to Alberto Fujimori by Kuczynski was annulled.

Following his extradition to Peru in 2007, Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for commanding death squads that massacred civilians in a counterinsurgency campaign during his rightwing government. He was later found guilty of corruption.

Keiko Fujimori's legal troubles could help President Martin Vizcarra, who threatened to dissolve Congress last month to pressure the opposition to pass his proposed judicial and political reforms.

A twice-defeated presidential candidate, Keiko Fujimori has led her father's right wing movement since he was imprisoned in 2007. </s> Mariano Rajoy has become the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify in court as he denied any knowledge of an alleged illegal financing scheme within his Popular Party (PP).

Mr Rajoy said his role at the party was political and strategic, not financial.

The prosecution claims that during the pre-2008 property boom, companies gave former PP lawmakers and civil servants kickbacks in return for contracts.

Mr Rajoy is not accused of wrongdoing.

His request to testify at the trial in the Madrid suburb of San Fernando by video link was denied.

Thirty-seven people, including three former PP treasurers, are on trial in the case that centres around the alleged ringleader, businessman Francisco Correa. Correa is already serving a 13-year sentence for influence peddling and bribery, and could face up to 125 years.

The so-called Gürtel case has electrified Spain for years, after being exposed by Ana Garrido, a civil servant in a Madrid suburb.
• Ana Garrido: Whistle-blower who took on Spain's ruling elite

Mr Rajoy became leader of the PP in 2004 and held senior positions before then. But on Wednesday he testily insisted he had no friendly relations with Correa and "never dealt with party financial matters".

Mr Rajoy is not personally accused of wrongdoing but his appearance in court remains a major embarrassment for a prime minister who has continually sought to distance himself from the accusations swirling around his party, correspondents say.

Outside the court, some 30 protesters blew whistles and held placards demanding "Justice" and "Make the PP illegal", reported AFP news agency. </s> The former Argentinian president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was indicted on Tuesday in a corruption case involving public works.

Federal judge Julian Ercolini approved charges of illicit association and fraudulent administration against Fernández, and two former aides: ex-planning minister Julio de Vido and former public works secretary José López.

Also named was businessman Lázaro Báez, whose Austral Construcciones company allegedly benefited from irregular contracts.

The judge’s order froze the equivalent of up to $633m of each defendant’s assets, though it was not clear they have that much.

The ruling published by official Center of Judicial Information said the defendants are accused of associating to illegally take public funds meant for public works between May 2003 and December 2015.

Fernández made no immediate comment on the charge, but she has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Since leaving office in December 2015, Fernández has alleged that she is the victim of persecution by her conservative successor, Mauricio Macri.

In May, a judge indicted Fernández on charges of manipulating currency exchange futures markets, allegedly causing economic damage to the government. </s> International arrest warrant issued for 70-year-old Toledo over claims he took bribes from construction giant Odebrecht

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A judge in Peru has ordered the arrest of ex-president Alejandro Toledo while prosecutors prepare criminal charges against the former leader for allegedly receiving $20m in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in return for granting a lucrative contract to build a transoceanic highway between Brazil and the Peruvian coast.

Judge Richard Concepcion ordered 18 months “preventive” prison and issued both a national and international arrest warrant for Toledo, 70, on Thursday. The ex-president, who was in France last week, has angrily denied any wrongdoing when interviewed by Peruvian journalists. His lawyer said he would not flee but declined to say what country he was in.

Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca offices raided over Odebrecht bribery scandal Read more

Observers said the warrant marked the nadir of a precipitous fall from grace for Toledo, a one-time pro-democracy activist who headed street protests against the authoritarian former president Alberto Fujimori and pledged to clamp down on rampant corruption when he took office from 2001 to 2006. Fujimori is serving a 25-year jail sentence for human rights crimes, embezzlement and bribing the media. Many Peruvians are shocked that one of his leading adversaries could join him behind bars if found guilty.

Earlier this week, Peru’s attorney general’s office formally charged Toledo with asset laundering and influence trafficking. The move came after police and prosecutors raided his home in Lima on the weekend, seizing documents, videos, mobiles phones and more than $30,000 in cash.

Prosecutors allege the payments to Toledo were made through his friend Josef Maiman, a Peruvian-Israeli businessman who was also being investigated along with Odebrecht’s former boss in the country, Jorge Barata, whose testimony implicates the former president.

Toledo, who came eighth in an electoral bid last year, said the charges had been orchestrated by his “traditional enemies”. However, he said he would return to be Peru if he could be guaranteed a fair trial.

The president of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who served as Toledo’s economy minister and prime minister, urged the former leader to return home.

The attorney general’s office is also investigating two more former presidents, Alan García (2006-11) and Ollanta Humala (2011-16) for allegedly having received bribes as part of the widening Odebrecht scandal.

Gustavo Gorriti, a leading investigative journalist and pro-democracy campaigner, told local radio: “Toledo ended his government like the protagonist of a film about gangsters, who robbed and used power like a masquerade for what they really wanted.”

“Having been handed the noblest possible mandate he betrayed it the most vile way imaginable,” he added.

Gorriti who leads IDL-Reporteros, an investigative reporting outfit, told the Guardian the Odebrecht scandal could be “the biggest case of corruption in the history of Latin America”.

It is estimated that Odebrecht paid out more than $730m in bribes across 12 countries in Latin America, according to a journalistic investigation.
Former President of the Community of Madrid, ex-Mayor of Madrid and ex-Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardón is imputed by his role in Lezo Operation corruption scandal.