Odebrecht scandal: Peru president Kuczynski resists pressure to quit

Peru's president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has said he will not resign, despite growing pressure over corruption allegations involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.

In a televised address late on Thursday, flanked by members of his cabinet, he denied any wrongdoing.

Scandal-plagued Odebrecht says it paid Kuczynski $5 million in advisory fees in a previous government role.

Opposition leaders have called on the president to resign over the issue, the BBC reports.

The payments by Odebrecht were made to Westfield Capital Ltd, a company owned by Kuczynski. He said that while he owned the company he was not manager of it when it received the payments.

Writing on Twitter after his address, he said: "It cost us a lot to get our democracy back. We're not going to lose it again. I'm not going to give up my honour, nor my values, nor my responsibilities as president of all Peruvians."

Odebrecht was fined a record $3.5 billion by the US last year for bribing officials from various countries. Fraudulent "advisory fees" was one method the firm used to funnel bribes to officials, according to the case against the firm.

Former company president Marcelo Odebrecht, who is serving a 19-year jail sentence in Brazil and has agreed to co-operate in return for leniency, said Kuczynski was hired as an advisor in Peru a decade ago, while he was economy minister.

Odebrecht also told prosecutors that the construction company had paid $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials over many years.

Kuczynski, 79, initially denied receiving any money from Odebrecht. He now denies receiving.