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| - Prosecutors said Thursday they would seek a 30-year jail term for Peru opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, accused of accepting illicit funding for her failed 2011 and 2016 presidential bids. Fujimori, again contesting an election in April, is accused of having received $1.2 million in illicit funding from scandal-tainted Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, since renamed Novonor. She claims she is a victim of political persecution. "Prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez will file charges against Keiko Fujimori and 41 other people for alleged organized crime, money laundering, obstruction of justice and false statements in an administrative procedure," the public prosecutor's office announced at the conclusion of a 28-month investigation. It said in a statement a prison term of 30 years and 10 months would be sought for Fujimori and other leaders of her Popular Force party, and terms of between six and 22 years for 33 other accused. No trial date has been set. Fujimori -- daughter of former Peru president Alberto Fujimori -- is placed third, according to some polls, in next month's general election. If she wins, she has said, she will pardon her father who is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption. He was found guilty of ordering two massacres by death squads in 1991 and 1992 while president. His daughter, 45, spent more than a year in pre-trial detention, and has twice been released by courts. The wide-ranging Odebrecht corruption scandal involved the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to win public works contracts in a dozen countries. The company has admitted to paying at least $29 million to bribe Peruvian officials, including four former presidents. Fujimori tweeted on Thursday she would "continue to face this persecution and move forward energetically so that together we can overcome this health and economic emergency." ljc/dga/mlr/ft
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