Peru’s ex-president Kuczynski arrested on corruption charges

Peru’s ex-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was arrested in Lima on Wednesday on corruption charges, local media reported.

Police officers “brought … Kuczynski to Lima’s prefecture as part of a preliminary detention order from Peru’s judicial branch,” news agency Andina said.

He will be held for ten days as part of an ongoing investigation into Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and its alleged bribery of government officials.

Kuczynski’s former secretary and his driver were also arrested in the same operation.

Kuczynski later called his arrest “arbitrary,” saying via Twitter that he has been fully cooperating with the authorities.

“I have absolutely cooperated with all of the investigations and promptly attended all of the citations from judicial authorities. I never shied away from justice,” said Kuczynski.

Kuczynski’s lawyer said he will appeal the decision to detain his client.