A Peruvian judge on Saturday imposed travel restrictions on former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who resigned this week while facing near-certain

 impeachment over ties to a construction firm at the heart of a graft investigation.

The order by Judge Juan Carlos Sanchez bans Kuczynski from leaving Peru for 18 months while his links to Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company that has acknowledged bribing officials across Latin America, are investigated.

"The legal argument is well founded to impede citizen Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from exiting the country," the order said.

The ex-president's lawyer, Cesar Nakazaki, said Kuczynski would abide by the order and cooperate with the investigation.

State security agents, meanwhile, searched two houses belonging to Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker.

Kuczynski, who denies wrongdoing, resigned on Wednesday. Two days later his vice president, Martin Vizcarra, was sworn in as Peru's new leader, promising to fight corruption "at any cost."

Vizcarra said he would form a completely new cabinet and asked for lawmakers to help him restore the public's trust in institutions damaged by the political crisis </s> Disgraced former Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who resigned last week in the face of impending impeachment, has been banned from leaving the country while the corruption investigation against him continues.

Judge Juan Carlos Sanchez, a member of the Specialized System for Crimes of Corruption, approved the 18-month international travel ban to allow a probe into PPK’s alleged links with Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to proceed.

The request for the ban, made by the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office, was announced on Saturday after a session held at the Third Preparatory Investigation Court and chaired by Sanchez.

“The legal argument is well founded to impede Citizen Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from exiting the country,” the order said.

The ex-president’s lawyer, Cesar Nakazaki, said Kuczynski would abide by the order and cooperate with the investigation.

At the same time, three properties belonging to the former president in the districts of San Isidro and Cieneguilla in Lima were searched as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of money laundering.

Both measures were supported by prosecutor Hamilton Castro, who is investigating transfers of more than US$1.4 million from Odebrecht to the Westfield company, owned by Kuczynski between 2005 and 2007.

On March 21, Kuczynski announced his resignation after the broadcast of several videos in which his allies were seen buying Congressional votes to avoid an impeachment motion against him.

Peru’s Congress accepted the resignation on Friday and swore in former Vice-President Martin Vizcarra as the new head of state. </s> Authorities in Peru raided two houses owned by former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski as part of a money laundering probe, the public prosecutor's office said on Saturday.

Both homes are in Lima, the office announced on Twitter.

Television images showed officials entering the properties with boxes, a day after Congress accepted Kuczynski's resignation.

In another development, Kuczynski's defense team said it accepted a request from the prosecutor's office to ban the ex-president from leaving the country.

The former Wall Street banker, 79, is under investigation over bribes he allegedly accepted from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to secure public works contracts.

The bribes were allegedly paid to consulting companies linked to Kuczynski when he was finance minister under President Alejandro Toledo, who governed from 2001 to 2006.

Toledo is himself accused of receiving $20 million in kickbacks in return for awarding the Brazilian construction giant a contract to build a road in the Amazon.

Kuczynski offered his resignation Wednesday, a day before Congress was due to vote on impeaching him for lying about his ties with Odebrecht.

He had denied all links with the company until it revealed it issued the bribes in exchange for contracts in December.

On Friday, new President Martin Vizcarra, Kuczynski's vice president, was sworn in to replace him. </s> A Peruvian judge on Saturday barred former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from leaving the country for 18 months.

The ruling by Judge Juan Carlos Sanchez came while police were raiding two of Kuczynski's homes, looking for evidence that could tie him to a massive corruption scheme.

Kuczynski, 79, resigned on Wednesday just hours before a parliamentary impeachment vote amid growing questions surrounding massive payments to his consulting firm a decade ago when he was finance minister.

Watch video 02:16 Share Protests erupt in Peru Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2pvnc Protests erupt in Peru after Kuczynski pardons Fujimori

Anti-corruption prosecutor Hamilton Castro told the court there was a long history in Peru that justified restricting Kuczynski's movements.

"Peru since the 19th century has watched the sad show as presidents and ex-presidents flee the country and justice," he said, in asking the court to bar Kuczynski from leaving the country. "This is the historical behavior that we seekers of justice have to take into account."

Kuczynski was not present in the courtroom Saturday as his lawyer promised his client would fully cooperate with the probe and would abide by the prosecutor's request to stay in the country.

Sanchez agreed with the prosecutor's request in issuing his order.

"The legal argument is well founded to impede Citizen Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from exiting the country," he said.

Massive corruption scandal

Former Peruvian President Kuczynski waves as he leaves office after announcing his resignation on Wednesday

Prosecutors are investigating payments of more than $780,000 made to Kuczynski's consulting firm from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Given that some of the payments were made at the same time Kuczynski was a government minister there are suspicions that the money was given in return for political favors.

Kuczynski, a former Wall Street investor, has denied any wrongdoing. He said the Westfield Capital consulting firm was being managed by his business partner at the time and that he paid taxes on all earnings.

But the corruption scandal appears bigger than Kuczynski. Odebrecht has admitted to paying a staggering $800 million in bribes to an array of officials across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru.

Kuczynski is the fourth former Peruvian president to be investigated for taking bribes from Odebrecht. One is currently in jail but another, Alejandro Toledo, has refused to return to Peru from the US to face charges. He is suspected of receiving as much $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht during his presidency.

Martin Vizcarra, the former vice-president, is sworn-in as president in Lima on Friday

Kuczynski was a finance minister in the Toledo government from 2001 – 2006. He had denied all links to the construction giant until the firm revealed it issued the bribes in exchange for contracts in December.

On Friday, Martin Vizcarra, Kuczynski's vice president, was sworn in as Peru's new president.

bik/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)

DW editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Peru’s public prosecutor Marcial Paucar arrives at former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s home, during a raid by the prosecution investigating money laundering, linked to the Odebrecht company in Lima, Peru, March 24, 2018. — Reuters picLIMA, March 25 — Authorities in Peru raided two houses owned by former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski as part of a money laundering probe, the public prosecutor’s office said yesterday.

Both homes are in Lima, the office announced on Twitter.

Television images showed officials entering the properties with boxes, a day after Congress accepted Kuczynski’s resignation.

In another development, Kuczynski’s defense team said it accepted a request from the prosecutor’s office to ban the ex-president from leaving the country.

He later tweeted that he was happy to cooperate with the investigation and would “clear my name and honor.”

He added he was a victim of political persecution and the media spectacle would damage the country’s image abroad.

The former Wall Street banker, 79, is under investigation over bribes he allegedly accepted from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to secure public works contracts.

The bribes were allegedly paid to consulting companies linked to Kuczynski when he was finance minister under President Alejandro Toledo, who governed from 2001 to 2006.

Toledo is himself accused of receiving US$20 million in kickbacks in return for awarding the Brazilian construction giant a contract to build a road in the Amazon.

Kuczynski offered his resignation Wednesday, a day before Congress was due to vote on impeaching him for lying about his ties with Odebrecht.

He had denied all links with the company until it revealed it issued the bribes in exchange for contracts in December.

On Friday, new President Martin Vizcarra, Kuczynski’s vice president, was sworn in to replace him. — AFP </s> Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned Wednesday after evidence emerged that that his allies tried to buy lawmakers' votes to avoid his impeachment, sources in the government confirmed to EFE. </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> LIMA, Peru—President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a market-friendly leader and one of Washington’s allies in Latin America, resigned Wednesday after a secretly recorded video appeared to show his allies trying to buy off an opposition lawmaker to sway a coming impeachment vote.

Mr. Kuczynski, 79, said in a televised speech he was stepping down. The move comes just 19 months after he took office and in the wake of allegations of wrongdoing over his past business ties with Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. Mr. Kuczynski was expected... </s> Washington: A Peruvian Supreme Court judge has ordered the arrest of former president Alberto Fujimori after overturning a pardon he had received roughly nine months ago on health grounds.

Judge Hugo Nunez accepted a challenge against the pardon that had been filed by families of victims of 1992 death squad massacres directed by Fujimori. The judge ordered Fujimori be located and sent to jail, Peru's judiciary said via Twitter.

Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2009 for commanding the killing of alleged terrorist sympathisers. Last December, former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski approved the 80-year-old's release after doctors said he was suffering from a "progressive, degenerative and incurable" illness and that jail endangered his life. Opposition lawmakers accused him of releasing Fujimori to avoid impeachment, a claim which Kuczynski denied.

Fujimori's defence would consider its options after reviewing the court's decision, lawyer Miguel Perez told local TV Canal N. Meanwhile, Fujimori's doctor and former health minister, Alejandro Aguinaga, said the ex-president was in his home in Lima receiving medical treatment for heart problems.
Peruvian ex-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's homes are raided by police investigating Operation Car Wash. A judge orders him to remain in Peru.