LIMA—The Peruvian chief prosecutor, Germán Juárez, has summoned the former first lady of Peru, Nadine Heredia, to give a detailed statement regarding her alleged involvement in a money-laundering operation dating back to 2006 in the light of new evidence about her links to Brazilian giant Oderbrecht, judicial sources said Friday. Nadine will be interrogated on Wednesday before two further grillings on May 2 and May 8, meaning she will be unable to leave Peru to work at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for a further three weeks at least. 

 According to El Comercio newspaper, the prosecution notified Nadine that she will have to respond to the allegations of former Odebrecht executive, Jorge Barata, that he coordinated with her and gave her dlrs 3 million in cash to fund the election campaigns of her husband and former President of Peru, Ollanta Humala.

 Additionally, Nadine will have to respond to other new evidence that the public prosecution have been accumulating since June 2016.

 The summons comes after Judge Richard Concepción Carhuancho rejected Nadine’s appeal that the diaries being used as evidence against her were “stolen” and should be invalidated as evidence.

 However, Peru’s Second Court of Appeals did rule in favour of Heredia with regards to the travel restrictions previously placed upon her, meaning she can now in principle leave Peru without previous judicial authorisation. The change in her code of conduct makes it more likely that the Peruvian will be able take up her job as liason chief at the FAO’s Geneva office. However there is mounting speculation also that prosecutors may demand that she be placed in preventive detention in jail to prevent her fleeing the country, judicial sources say. 

 Nadine’s husband, former President of Peru Ollanta Humala, will also make a declaration on Wednesday and May 11.

 Former Peruvian vice-president, Omar Chehade told Perú21 in an interview that Nadine is using her position at the FAO as part of her defence.

 “They have a strategy of shielding, that’s why she (Nadine) got this job at the FAO, because she wants to leave and her Brazilian friends are helping her,” Chehade said.

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