Bribe Scandal in Peru

Peruvian President Alan Garcia fired Alberto Quimper Herrera, a board member of PetroPeru after the news program Cuarto Poder had broadcasted an audio of conversations allegedly between Quimper and a former government official from Garcia's APRA party discussing payments they would receive if Discover won oil concessions in an auction last month.

Lately Energy Minister Juan Valdivia and PetroPeru CEO Cesar Gutierrez asked for resignation from their posts. President Alan Garcia accepted the resignations, even though they have not been directly implicated in the scandal.

Gutierrez denied involvement with any irregularities and said he had resigned from PetroPeru to show that he was clean of any irregular dealings with Discover and that way PetroPeru can fully cooperate with any investigation.

As Petroleumworld website reports, he said that "what we have done is associate ourselves with a qualified company to participate in the auction. If people unrelated to us had economic pacts, it was absolutely unknown to me."

Discover also said it was not involved in any alleged bribery.

PetroPeru is the government agency that oversees the granting of hydrocarbons licenses. The government cancaled the four oil contracts with Norway's Discover Petroleum, officials said Monday.

Last month, Discover Petroleum was awarded four concessions in partnership with Petroperu to explore for oil on Peru's coastline and in the jungle of southern Madre de Dios.

According to the recordings released, the heads of PetroPeru and a Peruvian representative of Discover Petroleum received $100,000 and $200,000 for gratings the concession to Discover.

The information was revealed by Fernando Rospigliosi, interior minister under former President Alejandro Toledo. Rospigliosi reportedly received them from an anonymous individual.

Author: Ksenia Kochneva