A former aide of deposed Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has accused Fujimori of shipping government cash, gold bullion and jewels out of the country during his time in office, a Peruvian newspaper said Thursday.
According to a report in La Republica, the aide, identified only as a former government official, made the allegation while giving testimony to special prosecutor Jos Ugaz and Attorney General Nelly Calderon.
Ugaz, the special prosecutor in charge of investigating charges of bribery and embezzlement leveled against Fujimori and his chief aide, Vladimiro Montesinas, has formally accused Fujimori of committing treason by dissolving Congress and suspending the constitution in April 1992. He has also accused Fujimori of embezzling government funds to finance his re-election campaign for the 2000 presidential race.
In March, Calderon filed a criminal suit against Fujimori, charging him with abandoning his presidential duties.
According to La Republica, Fujimori removed the cash from secret government accounts.
The official giving this testimony is under protective custody and is scheduled to leave Peru with his family, the newspaper reported.
Fujimori, who has been staying in Japan since being deposed by the Peruvian legislature in November, has repeatedly denied the existence of secret accounts -- the presence of which have yet to be confirmed by the Peruvian judicial authorities.