The Cocktails Case: trial of Keiko Fujimori for alleged money laundering

The Cocktails Case, possibly the most complex and high-profile judicial process that Peruvian politics has seen in the last decade, is reaching its final stage. The Judiciary plans to begin the oral trial against Keiko Fujimori and 45 other defendants for alleged illicit contributions to their campaigns in 2011 and 2016 on Monday, July 1 at 9:00 a.m. The trial is under the jurisdiction of the Third Collegiate Court of the Specialized National Superior Court of Criminal Justice (CSNJPE). The court is composed of judges Juana Caballero García (president), Nayko Coronado Salazar, and Max Vengoa Valdiglesias. One of them will be selected as the director of the debate, who will lead the sessions and subsequently draft the sentence project. Before hearing the arguments of the parties and before evaluating the evidence, the first session is expected to focus on the debate about whether the trial will proceed or not. Several of the defenses, including Keiko Fujimori's, have filed appeals that could result in the trial not taking place or the case reverting to the previous stage, the indictment hearing. If the court decides to proceed with the trial, the prosecution will be able to present its initial arguments, summarizing the charges and penalties requested against all the accused. This will be followed by the arguments of the money laundering prosecutor and all the defenses. Only after this will witness interrogations and evidence evaluations begin. Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez, from the special Lava Jato team, accuses the leader of Fuerza Popular of money laundering, being part of a criminal organization, obstructing justice, generic falsehood, and making false statements in an administrative procedure. He is seeking a sentence of 30 years and 10 months, as well as 15 years and 5 months of disqualification. The defense rejects all aspects of the accusation and questions the way the case has reached this stage. Meanwhile, the Money Laundering Prosecution is seeking a total civil reparation of S/151,063,509.84. For the trial, the prosecution has a list of 1,031 witnesses, while Keiko Fujimori's defense has 91. The documentary evidence also amounts to thousands of pages. Therefore, it is expected to be a long and complex trial, with the final speed depending on the frequency of the court hearings. Sessions have been scheduled for this Monday and Tuesday. Through the trial, it will finally be established - at least at first instance - whether the leader of Fuerza Popular is guilty or innocent of these accusations and whether the alleged contributions constitute money laundering. Throughout the judicial process, multiple incidents have occurred, and due to the political prominence of its main accused, it has been under constant media scrutiny. The prosecution accuses Keiko Fujimori of leading a criminal organization that laundered more than US$17,307,359.72 and S/18,000. This is established in the accusation, a judicial document of over 6,000 pages summarizing the charges and reviewed by El Comercio. This document also orders the case to go to trial. According to the prosecution's theory, most of the money would have entered through her electoral campaigns in 2011 and 2016. Among that amount is the alleged contribution of US$1 million from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, thus linking this case to the Lava Jato scandal in Peru. The rest would come from national businessmen. The amounts of money laundered, according to the prosecution's accusation Keiko Fujimori's defense, led by lawyer Giulliana Loza, argues that no money was received from Odebrecht. Regarding contributions from national businessmen, they argue that they do not have an illicit origin, so there can be no money laundering, and at worst, it would be an administrative offense. The harshest penalties requested by the prosecution are for the members of the alleged 'leadership' of the criminal organization. Like Keiko Fujimori, 30 years and 6 months in prison are also requested for the accused Jaime Yoshiyama, Vicente Silva Checa, Pier Figari, Ana Herz, José Chlimper, and Adriana Tarazona. For the rest, penalties ranging from 22 years and 8 months to 4 years and 6 months are sought. Among the other accused is Mark Vito Villanella, Keiko Fujimori's ex-husband, who faces a request for 22 years in prison for being part of a criminal organization and money laundering, and Giulliana Loza herself, for whom 6 years and 6 months are requested for obstruction of justice. The Fuerza Popular party also appears as a legal entity in the case, and its dissolution has been requested. However, a law passed by Congress this year, with the support of the Fujimori faction, could prevent this sanction from being imposed. While investigations into Keiko Fujimori's campaigns date back to 2015, the current case originated in 2017. That year, amid the Lava Jato scandal, the Peruvian prosecution gained access to a note found in Marcelo Odebrecht's agenda: 'increase Keiko by 500 and visit her.' Upon learning this news, Prosecutor Germán Juárez Atoche, who was already investigating Ollanta Humala for alleged Odebrecht contributions, began a preliminary investigation into the former presidential candidate. At that time, Fuerza Popular dominated Congress with a majority of 70 legislators, led by Keiko Fujimori. In September of the same year, however, Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez was assigned to the investigation. In the following months, the investigations were expanded not only to the alleged Odebrecht contribution but also to other unregistered contributions in the 2011 and 2016 campaigns. The investigation was marked by different events and procedures. In December 2017, Prosecutor Pérez raided the facilities of Fuerza Popular, and in October 2018, obtained the preliminary detention of Keiko Fujimori and the main suspects. Although this measure was revoked, he later achieved a 36-month preventive detention that was confirmed on appeal. In 2019, the Supreme Court confirmed the initial preventive detention but reduced it to 18 months. At the beginning of that year, Judge Richard Concepción Carhuancho, initially in charge of the case, was replaced by Judge Víctor Zúñiga. In November, the Constitutional Court ordered the release of the former presidential candidate. Shortly thereafter, however, the prosecution reaffirmed its request for preventive detention. In January 2020, Judge Zúñiga issued the measure for the second time. Despite this, in May of that year and amid the pandemic, the appeals court overturned the decision. Since then, Keiko Fujimori has been under process with restrictions. Currently, she has no restrictions on leaving Lima or traveling abroad. In March 2021, the prosecution closed the investigation and presented its accusation to the Judiciary. At that time, Keiko Fujimori was in the midst of the first-round presidential campaign. Judge Víctor Zúñiga began the accusation control hearings in August of that year. During the accusation control, the judge returned the request to the prosecution several times for corrections. This entire initial stage of the accusation control ended in August 2022. Subsequently, the judge rejected the appeals filed by Keiko Fujimori and her co-defendants to dismiss the case at that stage without going to trial. This whole process lasted until May 2023 when the accusation control hearings concluded. Six months later, in December, the judge issued the accusation order. In January 2024, the trial was assigned by draw to the Third Collegiate Criminal of the CSNJPE, and the start was scheduled for July 1, 2024. Strictly from a legal standpoint, the trial aims to provide an answer to a question that has been open for almost seven years: whether the alleged contributions to the fujimorismo campaigns actually occurred and whether they constitute money laundering. For now, the Judiciary has only authorized the case to go to trial so that all these issues will be decided there. The criminal responsibility of the accused will be determined at this stage. In an interview with El Comercio, lawyer Giulliana Loza questioned both the substance and form of the prosecution's case. She stated that it was presented after an abrupt closure of the investigation in March 2021, "in the midst of an electoral campaign" and with pending procedures. According to the defense, this caused disorder in the development of the case during the accusation control, in which the court returned the request to the prosecution several times. There were also defects in the subsequent accusation order, the document by which the Judiciary ordered the case to go to trial in December 2023. "We have requested its nullity because we consider it defective. It has factual inaccuracies, does not meet the requirements of the means of proof, and extemporaneous evidence has been accepted," she commented. If the Judiciary rules in favor of the defense at the start of the trial, it will mean that the trial will not take place, that the case will return to the accusation control stage, and that a new accusation order will have to be issued. "They have responded to us and clarified that this is one of the first issues to be addressed," she said. She also mentioned that the judicial file was fully notified to the defense on June 17. "It consists of 785 volumes, with 500 pages per volume. More than 1,300 pages are missing. Almost 100 pages are illegible. Yesterday, the court notified us, agreeing with us. They have ordered it to be completed. Despite this, the date remains unchanged." However, the lawyer assured that her client will attend the trial installation hearing. "We will go. Keiko is calm, she is ready to be present at this hearing. All we demand is that if we are going to start such an important and crucial stage of the process, to avoid future nullities, it is done correctly." Regarding the substance of the accusation, Loza stated that the prosecution itself argues that the contributions from Peruvian businessmen are "of legal origin." "The alleged contributions made by Rasmuss, made by Mr. Romero, in the Public Ministry's theory, do not have illicit nuances. Money cannot be laundered if it comes from a legal source. I do not see how they will be able to prove [money laundering]." Regarding the alleged Odebrecht contribution, the lawyer stated that Jorge Barata himself declared that he "cannot confirm that the money entered the party." "If what is being claimed is a supposed simulation of contributors, we are talking about an administrative problem, not a money laundering offense." She also mentioned that the use of Brazilian witnesses' statements will be resolved as the trial progresses. However, she noted that the Brazilian justice system has already "ordered" that former executives such as Marcelo Odebrecht and Jorge Barata do not testify in this trial. Loza also mentioned that they have requested the exclusion of Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez from the process. The request is also related to statements made by Jaime Villanueva, former advisor to former Attorney General Patricia Benavides, which led to a fiscal investigation of Pérez. Although the request was rejected at the higher level of his prosecution, she stated that the request is pending before a supreme prosecution. "We are not dealing with an objective prosecutor," she said. The lawyer estimated that the trial would last a minimum of two years, considering the precedent of Ollanta Humala's trial, which is a similar case but with a lower number of defendants. "All we demand is that things be done correctly. Keiko will be there, although, as the defense, we have to ensure that her rights are not violated." She refrained from commenting on the judges presiding over the trial. "All we demand, in a very respectful manner, is that the hearings be conducted impartially, with due respect for the rights of both parties, ensuring equality of arms." However, she expressed hope that the media attention on the trial "does not have a negative influence." "We sincerely hope that this influence does not generate a 'parallel trial,' a 'media trial,' where we could have judges who might feel pressured to make a decision." For his part, Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez told El Comercio that he approaches the start of the trial "with the confidence that the prosecution has done its job in presenting a solid case, with evidence that will be acted upon during the trial, and that ultimately it will be the judges who will have to determine the criminal responsibility of all the accused and impose the sentence if the evidence is presented properly." Regarding the requests to prevent the trial from taking place or being postponed, the prosecutor believes that based on the CSNJPE's track record in similar cases, this is unlikely to happen. "These will surely be issues that will be debated or sought to be debated before the trial is installed. But we trust that the judges will follow the criteria of the other cases they are judging, and the installation will take place." In this sense, the prosecution's main objective for the first session is to ensure that the trial is installed. "The defenses have sought, both inside and outside the process, with an entire campaign to discredit us, to prevent this moment from happening. For us, it is very important that the installation is achieved." After the installation, it is expected that the Public Ministry will begin with its initial arguments to support its charges. This will be followed by the Money Laundering Prosecution and the defenses of the accused. Regarding his continuity in charge of the case, from which Keiko Fujimori's defense seeks to exclude him, Pérez stated that these mechanisms have been applied to him since he took over this investigation. "We hope that not only will I be allowed to present the accusation but also to carry out the entire trial." Asked if he feels supported by the institution in view of the trial, he responded that he feels "supported by the coordinating prosecutor Rafael Vela, and I believe that work will be done at the level of the special team." In Ollanta Humala's trial for alleged Odebrecht contributions, the defenses managed to have a Brazilian judge prohibit witnesses from testifying for Peruvian justice. Regarding the possibility of this happening in Keiko Fujimori's trial, the prosecutor said that "it would not surprise me if they also raise this issue." "One of the lawyers, Humberto Abanto, has publicly stated that he has been requesting this in Brazil. Although this has not yet entered the process as a request, we understand that it will surely be made. But it must be taken into account that Odebrecht executives have been testifying in other trials [...]. We will have to wait and see, when the time comes, the position that Brazilian justice and Peruvian judges will take," he said. Regarding the judges presiding over the trial, Pérez emphasized that they are magistrates "with experience in these types of complex cases and