Montesinos timeline

Fujimori leads an often farcical "search" for Montesinos

BBC News Online looks at the series of events that sent Peru's former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos into hiding, and brought down former President Alberto Fujimori.

14 September 2000:
A Peruvian television station broadcasts a leaked videotape showing Vladimiro Montesinos apparently paying an opposition congressman $15,000 to leave his party and join President Alberto Fujimori's governing coalition.

16 September:
President Fujimori offers to disband the feared National Intelligence Service, led by Montesinos, as the scandal grows. He also offers to resign and hold a new election in 2001 in which he will not run.

Montesinos does not appear to be going quietly. A standoff develops. There are rumours that he is planning a coup. Montesinos is believed to have a tighter reign on the Peruvian military than the president.

21 September:
The military breaks its silence on the scandal and publicly supports Fujimori's call for new elections. This move is seen as the military's attempt to break ties with Montesinos.

23 September:
Montesinos flees the country and heads to Panama, where he requests political asylum.

23 October:
Montesinos returns to Peru after his asylum application fails in Panama.

25 October:
Fujimori launches an unsuccessful search for Montesinos in and around Lima accompanied by journalists. The search is widely seen as a public relations stunt designed to show that Fujimori is taking tough action against his former henchman.

29 October:
Montesinos sneaks out of Peru on a yacht. He sails to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, and then on to Costa Rica. He later enters Venezuela under a false passport.

2 November:
Switzerland requests Peru's help in investigating alleged money laundering by Montesinos totalling about $48m.

4 November:
A special investigator appointed by Fujimori files criminal charges against Montesinos for corrupting public officials, money laundering and illegal enrichment.

6 November:
Judges issues first of many arrest warrants for Montesinos.

November:
Investigators announce that Montesinos and members of his inner circle had amassed more than $274m in Peruvian and foreign bank accounts, allegedly from arms deals and drug trafficking.

17 November:
As the scandal continues to unfold, Fujimori flies to Japan after attending an international conference in Brunei.

20 November:
Fujimori faxes his resignation to Congress. Congress rejects the resignation and votes overwhelmingly to sack Fujimori on the grounds that he is "morally unfit" to govern.

December
It is reported that Montesinos has undergone plastic surgery in an attempt at disguise. He narrowly escapes capture as he leaves a private clinic in Caracas, without paying his bill, just before Interpol and the Venezuelan police arrive.

20 April 2001:
Peruvian Interior Minister Antonio Ketin Vidal announces a $5m reward for information leading to Montesinos' capture.

22 April:
Venezuelan police launch a manhunt for Montesinos in Cojedes state.

24-25 June:
Montesinos captured in Venezuela after eight months on the run and deported to Peru.