Peru opens probe into ex-Odebrecht executive's bank accounts

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's bank regulator said on Wednesday it was opening an investigation into two bank accounts worth $13 million belonging to Jorge Barata, construction firm Odebrecht's former head in Peru, after detecting "suspicious movements" between 2006 and 2016. The Brazilian company is at the center of a massive corruption investigation that spans several Latin American countries. "Odebrecht Peru has been cooperating with the authorities in that country to advance the investigations in progress," a company representative wrote in an email to Reuters in response to the new investigation. Multiple attempts to locate attorneys for Barata were not successful. Barata, who is in Brazil acting as a cooperating witness, is already under investigation on charges of influence trafficking and aggravated collusion. In December, Odebrecht admitted that it had doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to unidentified authorities throughout Latin America over a decade including $29 million to win contracts in Peru. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Gram Slattery)