HomeNewsBriefFmr Peru Supreme Court Judge Arrested for Links to $1 Bn Criminal Network
BRIEF

Fmr Peru Supreme Court Judge Arrested for Links to $1 Bn Criminal Network

ELITES AND CRIME / 8 MAY 2015 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

Police in Peru have arrested a former Supreme Court judge for his alleged role in a billion-dollar criminal empire, highlighting the network's ability to penetrate the highest levels of government. 

Peru's Attorney General's Office and National Police arrested former Supreme Court Judge Robinson Gonzales for allegedly forming part of the land theft and money laundering network run by businessman Rodolfo Orellana, reported El Comercio. Authorities have also arrested a former police colonel and seven other suspects as part of the same operation. 

Congressman Vicente Zeballos, who is heading a special commission in charge of investigating Orellana's network, said Gonzales has admitted that Orellana assigned him specific legal tasks and that he received a monthly salary in compensation. Zeballos added that Gonzales began working for Orellana after he was dismissed as a Supreme Court judge in 2011 for making questionable rulings in corruption and human rights cases.

Following the most recent arrests, prosecutors stated that 90 percent of Orellana's network has now been dismantled, reported Peru21

InSight Crime Analysis

While it appears Gonzales only began working for Orellana after he left the bench, there is ample evidence suggesting Orellana's network relied on high-level contacts to operate with impunity for over a decade. Zeballos has previously linked two congressmen to the Orellana criminal structure. Orellana's ex-wife and alleged collaborator, Elna Ramos Gallegos, reportedly worked in the office of former President Alejandro Toledo, who prosecutors have called in for questioning because he allegedly visited Orellano's criminal headquarters. What's more, 200 police officers were suspended last September after they were placed under investigation for alleged ties to the Orellana network.

SEE ALSO: Peru News and Profiles

The type of crime Orellana allegedly committed provides another indication that his network received political protection, since land theft is frequently facilitated by corrupt officials who falsify property titles and tamper with property registries. Orellana is believed to have unlawfully obtained and resold public and private land, and to have created around 50 front companies to launder the illicit proceeds. 

Orellana was one of Peru's most wanted until his capture last November, and had operated his criminal network since 2002, according to Peru's Attorney General's Office. Just a few weeks after his arrest, authorities seized 17 properties belonging to Orellana valued at over $1 billion dollars.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 6 MAY 2021

In the past year and a half, two murder cases have shaken the city of Cali: the slaying of its…

ELITES AND CRIME / 19 OCT 2021

Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro's aggressive reaction to the extradition of accused money launderer and ally Álex Saab – who appeared…

AUC / 11 MAR 2022

Alleged drug trafficker alias "Memo Fantasma" or "Will the Ghost," was formally charged during a March 9 virtual audience, of…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…