Peru’s Ex-Spy Chief Ties Bribes to Fujimori

Jailed former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos told an anti-corruption judge that he followed direct orders from former President Alberto Fujimori when he allegedly bribed at least 10 lawmakers, Peru’s Congress said Saturday.

Congress released a sworn statement Montesinos made to Judge Saul Pena Farfan, in which Montesinos said he doled out tens of thousands of dollars, “following orders from President Fujimori to obtain a congressional majority.”

“All of the payments were authorized, supervised and controlled by President Fujimori,” said Montesinos, who also described separate gifts, favors and payoffs to lawmakers, judges and officials already loyal to Fujimori.

Montesinos, 56, was arrested last month in Venezuela after eight months on the run. He faces charges ranging from influence peddling to narcotics trafficking and homicide.

Pena Farfan told radio station CPN on Saturday that Montesinos had implicated 100 other people.

He declined to elaborate on Montesinos’ statement.

Fujimori, 62, who denies any criminal wrongdoing, claimed a third term in office last year in an election described by international observers as fraudulent.

However, his supporters took only 52 congressional seats--nine short of the 61 needed to maintain control of the 120-member unicameral legislature.

But Fujimori regained the majority days before his inauguration last July, after a suspicious flood of last-minute defections from opposition ranks.

Then in September, a leaked video showed Montesinos apparently handing a newly elected opposition lawmaker a $15,000 bribe. The ensuing scandal ended Fujimori’s 10-year autocratic rule.