A Bolivian judge has ordered former President Luis Arce to remain in detention for five months while prosecutors investigate allegations he embezzled millions of dollars from a fund meant for Indigenous communities.
Arce, who left office just a month ago, appeared before Judge Elmer Laura in a virtual hearing on Friday, two days after his arrest on the streets of La Paz.
The judge rejected appeals from Arce’s legal team for his release and ruled he must await trial in one of the capital’s largest prisons, citing the seriousness of charges that “directly affect state assets and resources allocated to vulnerable sectors”.
No trial date has been set.
The accusations centre on Arce’s time as economy minister under former President Evo Morales between 2006 and 2017, when authorities say he oversaw the diversion of approximately $700m from a state fund created to channel natural gas revenues into development projects for Indigenous peoples and peasant farmers.
Interior minister of the new right-wing government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, has described the 62-year-old former president as “the principal person responsible” for approving transfers of large sums into personal accounts of government officials for projects that were never completed.
Arce maintained his innocence during Friday’s hearing, saying he had no personal involvement in managing the fund and dismissing the case as politically motivated. “I’m a scapegoat,” he told the judge. “The accusations are politically motivated.”
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
