What Prosecutors Alleged in Keiko Fujimori's 2024 Trial

Contents

Table of findings
The “Cócteles” case — financing of the 2011 campaign
The “Cócteles” case — financing of the 2016 campaign
Preliminary detention and pretrial detention (2018-2019)
Trial and the prosecution’s indictment (2024-2025)
Trial annulled by the Constitutional Court (October 2025)
Definitive dismissal of the case (January 2026)
Unsubstantiated electoral fraud claim (2021)
Appointment of people formerly under investigation to her government (September 2026)
Clash with the Judiciary over her UN speech (September 2026)
Annex: open investigations without indictment or judgment
Inquiry regarding contributions made to the 2021 campaign
The Alas Peruanas case
Illicit enrichment investigation (2026)
Sources

Keiko Fujimori Higuchi assumed the presidency of Peru on July 28, 2026, following her runoff victory over Roberto Sánchez by a narrow margin of only 49,641 votes. This marked her fourth run for the nation’s highest office. She enters the executive branch carrying a background of 69 prosecutorial inquiries—51 of which have been closed while 18 remain active—largely originating from the “Cócteles” matter, an inquiry into the irregular funding behind her 2011 and 2016 electoral bids, which features admitted donations from the Brazilian builder Odebrecht. The following file examines the substantiated records regarding her political trajectory.

Table of findings

N	Finding	Detail	Status
1	“Cócteles” case — 2011 campaign	Simulated donations originating from corporate figures and Odebrecht (US$1 million) channeled as “cocktail parties” and raffles	Partially acknowledged by the defense team of Fuerza Popular
2	“Cócteles” case — 2016 campaign	Unreported funds, such as US$480,000 gathered by José Chlimper	Under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office; lacking a definitive verdict
3	Pretrial detention (2018-2019)	Surpassing 13 months behind bars driven by the danger of impeding the inquiry	Validated — judicial mandate executed
4	Trial (2024-2025)	Charged with criminal organization, money laundering, obstruction, and false statement; the Prosecutor’s Office requested 30 years and 10 months of imprisonment	Proceedings conducted; devoid of a substantive conviction
5	Trial annulled by the TC (Oct. 2025)	The Constitutional Court invalidated the proceedings due to procedural flaws blamed on the Prosecutor’s Office	Validated — TC decree
6	Definitive dismissal (Jan. 2026)	The TC mandated the dropping of the money laundering and criminal organization charges concerning the 2011 and 2016 donations	Validated — TC decree
7	Unsubstantiated electoral fraud claim (2021)	Following her runoff defeat, she advanced the “electoral fraud” thesis and attempted to invalidate ballots	Dismissed — the OAS and the EU characterized the ballot as clean
8	Appointment of people formerly under investigation to her government (Sept. 2026)	She designated Jaime Yoshiyama, José Chlimper, and Arsenio Oré —investigated in the “Cócteles” inquiry— to a presidential advisory board	Corroborated by press reports
9	Clash with the Judiciary over her UN speech (Sept. 2026)	During the General Assembly, she challenged the ongoing legal actions against service members regarding the counter-terrorism campaign; the head of the Judiciary rejected her remarks	Corroborated — her personal public declaration

The “Cócteles” case — financing of the 2011 campaign

In September 2011, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) documented that Fuerza Popular (known at the time as Fuerza 2011) reported earnings surpassing S/17 million for that presidential race, featuring a significant amount of transfers from unknown sources. The political organization accounted for a portion of that sum through a pair of gatherings: a cocktail reception in December 2010 that allegedly brought in roughly US$119,750 alongside a second event that same month valued at approximately US$90,000. Ever since 2014, the Prosecutor’s Office has argued that such fundraisers and sweepstakes could not have financed an operation of that magnitude, contending they actually concealed a ring of “simulated contributors,” commonly referred to as “pitufeo” (smurfing)—namely, entrepreneurs who lent their identities to mask the genuine source of the funds. El Comercio reported that Fuerza Popular’s legal team admitted during the trial to the existence of these fictitious donors, while nevertheless rejecting the claim that such actions amounted to money laundering.

Credicorp’s Dionisio Romero, with about US$3.65 million, and Juan Rassmuss of Sudamericana de Fibras appear among the identified contributors, Resumen Latinoamericano reported. Jorge Barata, who represented Odebrecht in Peru, told Peruvian prosecutors in February 2019 that the Brazilian builder had given US$1.2 million to the 2011 campaign by way of Jaime Yoshiyama, according to RPP. In addition, Marcelo Odebrecht’s notebook, disclosed in 2017, contained a note about “increase Keiko,” as cited by El Comercio.

The “Cócteles” case — financing of the 2016 campaign

The same investigation was extended to the 2016 presidential campaign, in which Fujimori lost the runoff to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski by a razor-thin margin. According to Resumen Latinoamericano, in 2016 José Chlimper Ackerman, then secretary general of Fuerza Popular, reportedly collected US$480,000 in five deliveries, money whose final destination was not established in the prosecutors’ case file. A 2018 report by the Money Laundering Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the party was able to account for only 33% of the money raised across both campaigns.

The Prosecutor’s Office, with prosecutor José Domingo Pérez in charge, maintains that Fujimori and the Fuerza Popular leadership used the same mechanism of simulated contributors in 2016 to conceal the origin of the funds, as reconstructed by El Comercio. Among those summoned to testify was former congressman Rolando Reátegui, who entered into a cooperation agreement (colaboración eficaz) and described how he recruited fake contributors in the San Martín region at the request of the party leadership, according to Epicentro.

Preliminary detention and pretrial detention (2018-2019)

Fujimori was held under preliminary detention for ten days in October 2018, as prosecutors looked into alleged money laundering tied to the cocktail parties and raffles of Fuerza 2011, Al Jazeera reported. Months later, the prosecutors’ request for pretrial detention over the risk of obstruction of the investigation was granted by judge Richard Concepción Carhuancho; as a result, Fujimori spent more than 13 months in custody at the Anexo de Mujeres prison in Chorrillos, La República reported. In the prosecution’s theory at that time, Fujimori “directs, leads and coordinates” the activities of a criminal organization within her party. After the measure was reviewed, Fujimori regained her freedom, but as the case advanced she was still subject to several restrictions (comparecencia, a ban on leaving the country).

Trial and the prosecution’s indictment (2024-2025)

The trial in the “Cócteles” case began on July 1, 2024, against Fujimori, her former partner Mark Vito Villanella and 44 other people, according to Infobae. She was accused of criminal organization, money laundering, obstruction of justice and false statement in an administrative proceeding. The indictment review phase prior to trial had lasted one year and nine months under judge Zúñiga, with a prosecutors’ case file of more than 13,000 pages, according to El Comercio, which also details that the Prosecutor’s Office sought 30 years and 10 months in prison for former advisers Pier Figari and Ana Herz, and 22 years and 8 months for Vito Villanella.

Based on the same case records, a protected witness declared that Figari and Herz obtained funds from entrepreneurs who preferred to stay off the official roster of donors for the 2011 campaign. Meanwhile, the legal counsel for Fujimori consistently argued during the hearings that the Prosecutor’s Office would fail to substantiate the charge of money laundering.

Trial annulled by the Constitutional Court (October 2025)

Back in October 2025, even as the legal proceedings remained ongoing, the Constitutional Court (TC) voided the judicial process that had kicked off back in 2024. As highlighted by La Válvula, the TC determined that the Prosecutor’s Office had repeatedly amended its indictment in a manner that undermined the accused parties’ right to due process. Rather than ruling on whether the irregular financing actually took place, the decision centered on various procedural flaws attributed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office throughout the lengthy investigation.

Definitive dismissal of the case (January 2026)

In January 2026, the Constitutional Court ordered the dismissal of the money laundering and criminal organization charges over the contributions received in the 2011 and 2016 campaigns, according to La Válvula. The rationale, as reconstructed by El Comercio, was that at the time of the events under investigation (2011 and 2016), irregular party financing was not classified as a standalone crime —that offense only took effect in 2019— and that the existence of a criminal organization within the party had not been proven either. The same procedural route had previously benefited Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, whose case over Odebrecht contributions was also dismissed in 2026, which prompted a public complaint from Ollanta Humala, convicted for similar acts and still in prison.

This ruling brings to a close, at least within the realm of criminal justice, the judicial chapter that defined Fujimori’s political journey for upwards of ten years.

Unsubstantiated electoral fraud claim (2021)

After losing the 2021 runoff to Pedro Castillo by a margin of 0.25 percentage points, Fujimori initially refused to recognize the result, alleged fraud and filed hundreds of requests to annul tally sheets and votes, according to Wikipedia. The National Elections Jury (JNE) rejected those challenges and proclaimed Castillo the winner on July 19, 2021; only then did Fujimori announce that she would abide by the result.

As La Válvula reported, international electoral observers —the Organization of American States and the European Union among them— found the election to have been clean and competitive. No documented irregularity backed the fraud allegation at a scale that could have overturned the result.

Appointment of people formerly under investigation to her government (September 2026)

On September 16, 2026, now as president, Fujimori appointed Jaime Yoshiyama Tanaka, José Chlimper Ackerman and Arsenio Oré to an Advisory Commission of the Presidential Office, according to La República. Yoshiyama was identified by the Prosecutor’s Office as the person who, according to Jorge Barata’s testimony, received and concealed Odebrecht’s contributions to the 2011 campaign; Chlimper, the party’s secretary general at the time, was investigated for the same crimes attributed to Fujimori (criminal organization, money laundering, false statement and generic falsification). Both had been ministers during the government of Alberto Fujimori.

With the case dismissed in January 2026, none of the three faces any pending charges in the “Cócteles” case, but the appointment revived questions about the president’s closeness to the circle singled out in the case that defined her career.

Clash with the Judiciary over her UN speech (September 2026)

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2026, Fujimori said: “we defeated terrorism, but unfortunately even today, after 34 years, those who took on that mission are still being prosecuted, despite it having been shown that due process was violated,” Infobae reported. Janet Tello, president of the Judiciary, “completely” rejected those remarks; she noted that judges, too, were murdered in the fight against terrorism and that it was judges who convicted Abimael Guzmán.

Far from backing down, Fujimori replied that she would not “stay silent” about “the mistakes of the past,” according to Infobae. The episode marked the first public confrontation between her government and the head of the Judiciary.

Annex: open investigations without indictment or judgment

These inquiries remain active, having yielded neither formal charges nor a legal verdict thus far. They form part of her judicial history rather than established truths. Ever since she assumed office, Article 117 of the Constitution has restricted the advancement of legal proceedings against her throughout her tenure, as reported by Gestión.

Inquiry regarding contributions made to the 2021 campaign

On September 30, 2025, the First Supraprovincial Corporate Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Money Laundering Crimes formally launched a preparatory investigation targeting Fujimori, Luis Galarreta, Miguel Torres, Lidman Miranda, alongside the political party Fuerza Popular as a corporate entity, alleging they formed a criminal organization to launder assets via donations tied to the 2021 election campaign, as reported by RPP. The timeframe spans 36 months, and magistrate Wilson Verástegui mandated merely simple appearance (comparecencia simple).

According to Infobae, the prosecution’s theory includes false donations of undeclared origin, the use of S/1.6 million in public financing for campaign purposes, and the collection of S/1,258,708 between July 9 and 30, 2021, to challenge Pedro Castillo’s victory. Several contributors denied having made the donations attributed to them. There is no indictment or judgment.

The Alas Peruanas case

In a probe separate from the “Cócteles” case, prosecutors name Fujimori and her former adviser Pier Figari as the alleged perpetrators of aggravated money laundering, involving money that reportedly came from Universidad Alas Peruanas and from the organization attributed to its founder, Fidel Ramírez —the father of Joaquín Ramírez, a former secretary general of Fuerza Popular. The prosecution’s theory, La República reported, covers S/210,000 received in 2011, S/54,536 received between 2014 and 2015, and two transfers of real estate in Lima.

On April 30, 2025, the Fourth National Preparatory Investigation Court incorporated Fuerza Popular as a legal entity, although Gestión subsequently reported that an appeals chamber declared that addition unlawful and dismissed the political party from the case. The proceedings involving the natural persons remain open, with no indictment.

Illicit enrichment investigation (2026)

Weeks after the “Cócteles” case was dismissed, on February 4, 2026, it became known that Lima’s First Provincial Corporate Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Public Corruption Crimes had opened an illicit enrichment investigation into Fujimori, Infobae reported. It focuses on the US$3.6 million in cash that Dionisio Romero allegedly handed over to her between November 2010 and May 2011; prosecutors note that, despite those funds, the sworn asset declarations she filed as a member of Congress in 2010 and 2011 barely changed.

This probe looks at her personal assets, unlike the dismissed case, whose focus was party financing. It has been classified as complex and was given an initial term of eight months. No indictment exists.