Where are the watches for which the president of Peru is being investigated?

The scandal regarding the high-end watches that Dina Boluarte owns and which, allegedly, he would have omitted in his declaration of assets shows no signs of an end in sight.

18 days after the Peruvian media The Encerrona revealed the matter of the president's ostentatious watches and despite the demands of the Prosecutor's Office, Boluarte refuses to teach and much less to deliver the rolexes for which it is investigated.

When prosecutor Hernán Mendoza asked Boluarte about the whereabouts of her luxury watches, the Peruvian head of state only said that “it was not an exhibition procedure,” according to the Cuarto Poder program.

Furthermore, during the raid on the president's private residence and the Government Palace, which according to official reports took more than 10 hours, The watches were not found.

However, in the investigation, carried out with judicial authorization, a Rolex brand guarantee certificate was found, as well as other jewelry, according to the record drawn up at the scene and to which he accessed. Trade.

The eight-page document states that the property located on block three of Los Halcones Street (Surquillo) has three floors, each with different rooms, and the corresponding registration of the rooms is carried out in each of them. 11:26 pm on Friday, March 29.

Boluarte was not present nor did he arrive at his home later. He remained at all times in the Government Palace.

Rolex and jewelry documentation

On the first floor of Surquillo's home, no relevant elements for the investigation were found. However, it is on the second and third floors where agents from the High Complexity Crime Investigation Division (Diviac), led by PNP Colonel Harvey Colchado, They found information related to the Rolex Case.

Specifically, in the second room, in an environment used as a library, a green card holder with the Rolex brand was found inside a pencil case, containing a seven-page warranty booklet, as well as an international Rolex warranty card. with a respective model and serial number, as well as the date of purchase.

The model number of the warranty card, as recorded in the document, is 126284RBR. According to the Casa Banchero website, the code corresponds to a Rolex DATEJUST36 in white gold, with a price around $22,500. Purchase date: July 8, 2023.

This information contradicts what Boluarte had declared once this topic became known, when, very briefly, he indicated that everything he has “is the result of my effort and my work” and that “the article in particular is from yesteryear.”

Right there, a black envelope was also found with the logo of Casa Banchero, the only authorized distributor in Peru of the Rolex brand; in addition to a white card from the same store with the description and image of a gold-colored bracelet (94btes 0.76K bangle bracelet) and another black warranty card.

“Which is seized and placed in a transparent polyethylene bag with an airtight seal, and is sealed with transparent packaging tape with its respective label and chain of custody,” the minutes indicate.

On the third floor, a room, the agents also found on a shelf a box-type case with the description of the Banchero House “containing inside two bags of red organza material containing a gold bracelet and a gold necklace with a pendant of cross”. This was also seized by the authorities.

“In this act it is recorded that during the entire diligence no type of Rolex brand watch that is the subject of this investigation was found,” the minutes highlight. And the procedure was completed at 3:20 am on Saturday.

In a statement, the Public Ministry highlighted that, despite having been requested, Boluarte did not hand over the Rolexes. Furthermore, they stressed that the procedure was authorized by the Judiciary, which is why they ruled out that the procedure “was illegitimate, unconstitutional and abusive.”

“In the aforementioned diligence, the delivery of the Rolex watches by the President of the Republic was not located or occurred, despite the fact that she was requested to do so; However, other elements of interest for the investigation were obtained,” she said through her X account.

He also confirmed that Boluarte has been formally summoned “to exhibit the Rolex watches and give a statement on Friday, April 5.”

The procedure carried out between last Friday and Saturday was authorized by Judge Juan Carlos Checkley, in charge of the Supreme Preparatory Investigation Court, and took place within the framework of the investigation being followed into Boluarte for alleged illicit enrichment and failure to record statements. in documents. The president had delayed the previously scheduled proceedings.

In the court order, to which El Comercio had access, various elements of conviction presented by the Public Ministry are mentioned, which were taken into account by the judge to dictate the measure.

There is, for example, the statement by Héctor Banchero Herrera, general manager of Casa Banchero, in which he pointed out that the serial number of a Rolex “is unique” for each of these watches and that To know the originality of a Rolex it is necessary to have the watch on handbecause it has to be uncovered, “a procedure that can only be done by a duly accredited expert… using special tools.”

The prosecution also cited among its arguments the times that Boluarte and Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén expressed their willingness to collaborate with the investigations.

However, the head of state, through her lawyer Mateo Castañeda, requested the rescheduling of the proceedings for the exhibition of the three Rolex watches and the president's statement, on March 26 and 27, respectively.

*With information from El Comercio (Peru)/GDA