The prosecutor asks that the left-wing candidate be imprisoned for five years and four months for false financial statements.
Posted on May 13, 2026
Peru's prosecutors have accused left-wing presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez of financial crimes and called for him to be jailed for five years and four months.
The charges, revealed on Tuesday, came hours after electoral authorities confirmed that Sánchez was on track to advance to the country's presidential runoff, scheduled for June 7.
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According to the newspaper El Comercio, prosecutors allege that Sánchez, a candidate for the Together for Peru party, submitted false financial statements to the National Office of Electoral Processes related to campaign contributions between 2018 and 2020.
Prosecutors say Sánchez and his brother, William Sánchez, received more than 280,000 Peruvian soles ($81,720) in contributions and membership fees that were never disclosed in the party's financial documents.
Sánchez is also accused of making false statements in administrative proceedings.
In addition to the prison sentence, prosecutors were also seeking a “permanent disqualification” of Sánchez from holding the position of president of the Together for Peru party, according to El Comercio.
Sánchez's lawyer rejected the accusations and told local outlet RPP that the party's treasurer, not Sánchez, was responsible for his financial statements.
A judge is expected to decide on May 27 whether the case will go to trial.
The charges arose when vote counts from the first round of last month's election showed Sánchez advancing to a runoff against conservative rival Keiko Fujimori.
With 99.76 percent of the votes counted, Fujimori, daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori and four-time presidential candidate, had a wide lead with 17.17 percent of the votes.
Sánchez, who ran with the backing of imprisoned former president Pedro Castillo, won 12 percent, well ahead of ultraconservative former Lima mayor Rafael López Aliaga with 11.91 percent, a margin of approximately 15,000 votes.
The final result is expected on May 15.
