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Peruvian ex-presidents to testify before Congress in bribery case

Xinhua, December 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Three former presidents in Peru are to testify before Congress in relation to allegations of bribe taking, congresswoman Karina Beteta said Monday.

Ex-presidents Alejandro Toledo, Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala will be questioned about recent revelations that the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht paid out 29 million U.S. dollars in bribes to secure major public works contracts during their administrations.

Beteta, a member of the opposition Popular Force (FP) party, said "if they have something to say, they must say it to the (congressional) committee."

The committee was created to clear up the allegations tainting the governments of Toledo (2001-2006), Garcia (2006-2011) and Humala (2011-2016).

The scandal broke out on Thursday, following Brazilian media reports Odebrecht had admitted to paying more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in bribes across much of Latin America and parts of Africa.

Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Venezuela immediately launched or called for investigations into the matter.

The confession was made as part of a plea bargain deal with the U.S. Department of Justice, which released the documents. Endi