Peruvian leader's sister charged

Margarita Toledo, and 25 others, are alleged to have been involved in forging signatures to allow Mr Toledo's party to stand for election in 2000.

Mr Toledo has repeatedly denied that his sister did anything wrong during the registration period.

The charges come as two prosecutors quit a special anti-corruption unit in protest at perceived lack of progress.

Mr Toledo has been dogged by accusations of fraud over the collection of signatures supporting his Peru Possible party.

A witness who testified to prosecutors was also reported to have implicated the president, but he remains immune from prosecution while in office.

A Peruvian judge will weigh the evidence against Ms Toledo to decide whether to bring the case to trial, local media report.

Slump in support

The two prosecutors, Ronald Gamarra and Ivan Meini, served on an anti-corruption unit handling probes into the 10-year regime of disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

The pair quit, citing frustrations with their progress, just a week after their boss, Luis Vargas Maldivian, resigned from his post.

Mr Toledo's approval rating has slumped as he struggles to shake off corruption allegations centring on his family and his election victory in 2001.

In July he said he would open his personal bank accounts to scrutiny in an effort to win back public trust.

Mr Toledo has lost several ministers to corruption scandals.

The state anti-corruption office is still dealing with the fall-out from the collapse of Mr Fujimori's 10-year rule, marked by widespread corruption and human rights abuses.

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