Peru auctions jailed ex-spy chief's luxury jewels
Peru auctions jailed ex-spy chief's luxury jewels
Sunday, August 24, 2014
LIMA (AFP).- Peru began auctioning off the jewelry collection of jailed ex-spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos on Monday, looking to recoup more than $1 million of the public funds he was convicted of stealing.
Montesinos was the head of the intelligence services under former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), who is today serving prison time, as well.
The jewelry collection, which will be auctioned off over the course of two days, includes 39 watches, 76 pairs of cufflinks, 18 rings and a slate of 18-carat gold objects ranging from key chains to tie clips, much of it encrusted with precious gems.
The centerpiece of the auction is a Swiss watch in white gold and platinum, encrusted with 400 diamonds and valued at $161,000, said the head of the government agency conducting the sale, Maria del Pilar Sosa.
"The fact these jewels are in gold and diamonds is a testament to the obscenity of the corruption that reigned under the Fujimori government," the former prosecutor in charge of fighting corruption, Julio Arbizu, told AFP.
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