Former Peruvian president charged

Mr Toledo left office in July 2006

A judge in Peru has formally charged the former President, Alejandro Toledo, over allegations of document forgery and falsifying signatures.

Mr Toledo is accused of involvement in faking thousands of signatures in order to register his Peru Possible party for elections in 2000.

He lost the polls but won power in 2001 when predecessor Alberto Fujimori fled to Japan over a corruption scandal.

He denies the charges, which carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

A judge set bail at 50,000 soles ($15,600, £8,000) and ordered a freeze on 150,000 soles ($46,900, £24,000) of his assets.

Mr Toledo is currently in the US, but will be barred from leaving Peru if he returns.

His sister, Margarita, and 24 others were charged in December 2004 in connection with the case.

During his five-year term, Mr Toledo was dogged by scandals involving himself, his wife, aides and family members, says the BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima.

When he left office in July, the new government opened an investigation into his alleged influence peddling, nepotism and misappropriation of funds.

But on a return trip to Peru earlier this month, Mr Toledo denied all allegations against him and said he was a victim of political persecution, our correspondent adds.