A Bolivian judge has ordered former President Luis Arce to remain in pre-trial detention for five months as prosecutors investigate allegations of large-scale corruption linked to funds meant for Indigenous development projects.
Arce, who left office last month, appeared virtually before Judge Elmer Laura on Friday, two days after he was arrested in La Paz. The court rejected requests by his legal team for provisional release and ruled that he be held in San Pedro prison, citing the gravity of the accusations and their alleged impact on public resources earmarked for vulnerable communities.
Prosecutors accuse the former leader of overseeing the diversion of about $700 million from a state-run Indigenous fund during his tenure as economy minister under ex-President Evo Morales between 2006 and 2017. Authorities allege the funds were transferred into personal accounts of officials for projects that were never executed.
Arce has denied all allegations, insisting he had no direct role in managing the fund and describing the case as politically motivated. “I’m a scapegoat,” he told the court. His lawyers also sought his release on health grounds, pointing to his past battle with kidney cancer, but the request was dismissed.
The investigation, first opened in 2015 before stalling for years, was revived following the election of conservative President Rodrigo Paz, who has pledged to tackle corruption amid Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in four decades.
If convicted, Arce could face up to six years in prison.
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