Former Peruvian President Alan García who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011 has died after shooting himself as police
Former Peruvian President Alan García who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011 has died after shooting himself as police arrived at his home to arrest him over bribery allegations.
Alan García was accused of taking bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, claims he denied. However, investigators say he took bribes from Odebrecht during his second term in office, linked to a metro line building project in the capital. Odebrecht has admitted paying almost $30m (£23m) in bribes in Peru since 2004.
But Alan García maintained he was the victim of political persecution, writing in a tweet on Tuesday that there was “no clue or evidence” against him. In November last year he unsuccessfully applied for political asylum in Uruguay.
Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction giant is behind major infrastructure projects around the world, including venues for the 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup in its home country. But under the glare of anti-corruption investigators the company admitted paying bribes in more than half of the countries in Latin America, as well as in Angola and Mozambique in Africa.
Investigators say Odebrecht bribed officials or electoral candidates in exchange for lucrative building contracts.
