Peruvian lawmaker Jacqueline Tapullima is under prosecutorial investigation after a National Police of Peru forensic report concluded that her congressional candidacy sworn declaration carried a fake signature and fingerprint.
The forensic findings, presented by the Peruvian Sunday television programme Cuarto Poder, add to separate allegations that the Juntos por el Peru representative allowed an unregistered lawyer to work inside her parliamentary office for months.
According to the report submitted by the National Police of Peru (PNP) to the Public Ministry, examiners compared Tapullima's original signatures against the signature placed on the sworn declaration that allowed her to run for the Congress of the Republic of Peru.
The police analysis identified nine differences in the strokes, edges and curves of the handwriting, leading forensic specialists to conclude that the signature on the electoral document was fake.
Police forensic findings on the San Martin candidacy
In addition to the disputed handwriting, the police report delivered to prosecutors stated that the fingerprint stamped on the same sworn declaration did not belong to Tapullima. Because of those findings, the lawmaker faces a prosecutorial investigation for alleged false declaration in an administrative proceeding and an offence against public faith.
According to Cuarto Poder, the investigation began in late May 2026 and focuses on the sworn document that formalised Tapullima's candidacy for the San Martin region. So far, authorities have not established who placed the fingerprint on the document or who forged the signature.
When questioned by the television programme, Tapullima said she would wait to see how far the process goes, without explaining who had signed the document in her name.
In Peru, candidates seeking seats in the national legislature in Lima must file sworn declarations as part of the official registration process. The Public Ministry is the autonomous state institution responsible for leading criminal investigations in Peru with technical support from PNP forensic units, while offences against public faith under Peruvian law cover document forgery and the submission of falsified records in official proceedings. Tapullima represents San Martin, a region in northern Peru spanning the eastern slopes of the Andes and the Amazon basin, for the left-wing party Juntos por el Peru.
Allegations over an unregistered lawyer in Congress
Alongside the candidacy inquiry, Tapullima is accused of allowing a citizen who is neither on the congressional payroll nor officially registered as part of her technical team to work in her office. Cuarto Poder reported that lawyer Karolyn Bracamonte performed duties in the lawmaker's office over recent months.
Maria Pinedo, a former worker in Tapullima's office, told the programme that Bracamonte came to the office to provide support and stated that she had warned the lawmaker that the practice was not permitted.
Sources cited by the Sunday programme indicated that the lawyer performed those tasks with the promise of later obtaining a post in the public sector. Under the rules of Congress, employing staff on an unpaid ad honorem basis is not permitted.
Office entry logs and chat messages
Bracamonte reportedly entered the congresswoman's office on up to 27 occasions, for shifts lasting between four and ten hours. According to Cuarto Poder, those visits added up to more than 100 hours spent inside the parliamentary office.
Constitutional lawyer Alejandro Rospigliosi told the Sunday programme that these actions could constitute an offence against public faith. He indicated to Cuarto Poder that a working shift was being disguised as if it were merely an ordinary visit.
Cuarto Poder also presented a series of chat messages in which Bracamonte coordinated projects with the people she was messaging. Regarding those allegations, Tapullima asked the reporting team to continue investigating the alleged unlawful activity.
For her part, Bracamonte confirmed to the programme that she does not work in the office, acknowledged that the chat messages were genuine, and stated that her presence in the office was solely to provide advisory assistance out of friendship with the congresswoman.
