The 2008 Peru oil scandal started after a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian TV station broadcast an audio tape of an alleged conversation between a government official and a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

agreeing to help a firm win contracts. The speakers were allegedly Alberto Quimper, an executive in

Petroperú Petróleos del Perú (), better known as Petroperú, is a Peruvian state-owned enterprise and private law dedicated to the transportation, refining, distribution, and commercialization of fuels and other petroleum products. It has been owned by ...

, the state company in charge of promoting foreign investment in the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

sector, and a prominent lobbyist and politician member of the Apra party Rómulo León Alegría discussing payments to help the Norwegian company Discover Petroleum win contracts. This was followed by street protests led by workers, teachers, builders and doctors for the resignation of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

. The scandal led to the resignation of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jorge del Castillo and the appointment of a new cabinet headed by Yehude Simon.

Tape

On October 5, 2008, TV

news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

Cuarto Poder broadcast alleged audio recordings of Alberto Quimper, vice-president of Petroperú, and Rómulo León Alegría, a lobbyist and prominent member of the APRA, the party that was currently in office. In the tape, they discussed secretive $10,000 monthly payments to Quimper, León and Ernesto Arias-Schreiber, the legal representative of the company Discover in Peru, in exchange for steering lucrative

contracts to explore offshore oil blocks and gas fields in Peru Discover's way.

Consequences

Thousands of workers, including teachers, builders and doctors protested in Peru calling for the resignation of the government. On October 10, 2008, Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo submitted resignation of his cabinet to president

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popula ...

. A new cabinet led by 61-year-old Yehude Simon was sworn in on October 14, 2008.Peru's Garcia Swears in New Ministers Amid Scandal
/ref> He had been the president of the

Lambayeque Region Lambayeque () is a Administrative divisions of Peru, department and Regional Government of Lambayeque, region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche culture, Moche and Chimú culture, Chimú historical past. The region's name originates ...

and is from outside the ruling party. On February 16, 2016, a Peruvian court acquitted Rómulo León, former Petroperu president César Gutiérrez, former Perupetro president Daniel Saba, former Discover Petroleum director Jostein Kjerstad and six other defendants in the case. Meanwhile, Peru's statutes of limitations exonerated Alberto Quimper when he turned 75 years old. Peru officials acquitted in ‘Petroaudios’ oil scandal from 2008
Peru Reports

References

{{Reflist, 2 Political history of Peru Peru Oil Scandal, 2008 Peru Oil Scandal, 2008 Audio evidence