Peru will punish people who lend or facilitate bank accounts and digital wallets that carry extortion payments, under a decree published on Monday, 9 November 2026. A second decree issued the same day changes how courts treat people who say they acted in self-defence.
Peru is going after the “account lenders” who let extortion gangs collect money, while widening legal protection for people who defend themselves.
The Palace of Justice in Lima, Peru, seat of the country’s judiciary, whose judges will apply the new self-defence rule.What Decree 1744 Changes
Legislative Decree 1744, a government rule with the force of law issued under powers delegated by Congress, amends Peru’s Penal Code so that anyone who lends or facilitates a bank account, digital wallet or other financial product to channel extortion money can be punished, when the lender knows or should presume the criminal purpose. Digital wallets are phone apps that store money and send payments.
Gangs use borrowed accounts to collect extortion payments without putting their own names on the money trail. The decree aims at the people who hand those accounts over.
The same decree raises penalties for contract killing (sicariato), aggravated robbery and kidnapping. It also punishes anyone who erases or alters the serial number of a firearm, and anyone who files a false report that a weapon was lost or stolen.
It amends the cybercrime law, Law 30096, to punish illicit access to computer platforms. Foreigners who were expelled and re-enter Peru irregularly face effective prison, meaning a sentence that is actually served.
What Decree 1743 Changes on Self-Defence
Decree 1743 amends the Penal Code so that a person who acts in legitimate defence is presumed to have acted rationally. Prosecutors, not the defendant, must prove otherwise.
The decree removes the test of proportionality between the force used and the attack. It also orders prosecutors to close a case for good once self-defence is corroborated.
Judges who reject the plea must give “qualified reasoning”, or the ruling can be annulled. Luis Galarreta, Peru’s prime minister, said that “the fight against insecurity is comprehensive”.
A Wider Security Push
Galarreta leads the cabinet of President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on 28 July 2026. The two decrees follow a decree letting the armed forces tighten perimeter control at prisons.
An earlier package of decrees published on 12 February 2026 created a specialised anti-extortion subsystem for investigators and prosecutors. Our explainer on security and crime in Peru sets out the background.
What It Means for You
For residents and long-stay visitors, the practical risk is that lending an account to a friend or a stranger could carry criminal liability if it is used for extortion. How banks and wallet providers must screen for borrowed accounts has not been described.
For investors, Credicorp, the Lima-based financial group listed in New York, owns Banco de Crédito del Perú, which runs Yape, a phone payment app widely used in the country. Any duty placed on wallet providers would apply to services of that kind.
What Is Not Known
The prison terms for lending an account, and any start date beyond publication, were not reported. It is also open how prosecutors will tell a knowing account lender from a victim whose account was used without consent.
Courts will decide in practice how far the new self-defence presumption reaches. Until cases arrive, its effect on trials stays untested.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Peru’s new decree say about digital wallets?
Decree 1744 penalises people who lend or facilitate bank accounts, digital wallets and other financial products so that extortion money can be moved. Reports on the decree did not state the prison term.
Who is covered by the new self-defence rule?
Decree 1743 covers anyone who claims legitimate defence in a criminal case. Self-defence is presumed rational, and prosecutors must prove otherwise.
When were the decrees published?
Both appeared in an extraordinary edition of El Peruano, the official gazette, on Monday, 9 November 2026. No start date beyond publication was reported.
Sources: Government of Peru: Legislative Decrees 1743 and 1744, extraordinary edition of El Peruano (elperuano.pe), 9 November 2026; statement by Luis Galarreta, president of the Council of Ministers, 9 November 2026; Legislative Decree 1735, El Peruano, 12 February 2026.