Peru prosecutors seize Rolexes president said were a loan

Peru’s President Dina Boluarte shows a watch during a press conference, saying it is not a Rolex – Copyright AFP/File Alessandro Serranò

Peruvian prosecutors on Wednesday seized three Rolex watches and a bracelet at the heart of a scandal engulfing President Dina Boluarte, who said the items had been loaned to her.

Boluarte is under investigation after being spotted wearing luxury jewelry in a scandal dubbed “Rolexgate” that has shaken her unpopular government.

Last week she told prosecutors she had made a “mistake” in accepting the watches from her “friend,” Ayacucho governor Wilfredo Oscorima, and had returned them.

Oscorima’s lawyer said the watches and bracelet — whose brand was not specified — were seized when he presented them Wednesday to prosecutors as part of the investigation.

“The prosecution decided to make a seizure, without a court order. The argument is that the assets could be lost,” lawyer Humberto Abanto told reporters.

Boluarte has also denied owning Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, which a media investigation said she had worn at official events.

“Everything that has been said is false,” Boluarte said Friday, after giving a statement to prosecutors for five-and-a-half hours.

Boluarte has approval ratings hovering around 10 percent, and has had a torrid time in office since taking over in 2022 from Pedro Castillo, who tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, leading to his arrest and impeachment.

In 2023, prosecutors opened an investigation in which she stands accused of “genocide, homicide and serious injuries,” for the deaths of more than 50 protesters during a crackdown on demonstrations demanding she resign and call fresh elections.