Peru's Grana y Montero probed for alleged Odebrecht bribes -prosecutor
(Adds political context to fourth paragraph and drop in Grana's shares to fifth paragraph)
LIMA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The Peruvian attorney general's office is investigating construction group Grana y Montero for alleged involvement in bribes paid by its Brazilian partner Odebrecht, the lead prosecutor on the Odebrecht case said.
Speaking in a televised interview with America Television, prosecutor Hamilton Castro said that his office has been quietly investigating Grana and other local partners of scandal-plagued Odebrecht despite not speaking publicly about it previously.
"There is an investigation against the partner companies ... against Grana y Montero and others," Castro said in the interview late on Sunday.
Opposition lawmakers have accused prosecutors of political bias for not investigating Grana. Attorney General Pablo Sanchez has dismissed the criticism as retaliation for a separate probe into campaign financing.
Grana's shares on the Lima and New York stock exchanges, which have plummeted since the Odebrecht scandal broke late last year, slipped by more than 3 percent in morning trade.
Grana did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said an internal probe turned up no evidence that its employees knew about or took part in bribes that Odebrecht has admitted paying to local officials in exchange for lucrative contracts.
Castro said an Odebrecht executive who turned state's witness, Jorge Barata, told prosecutors the companies that Odebrecht partnered with on two highway projects had paid their share of bribes given to former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, who denies wrongdoing.
"That statement must be corroborated," said Castro, who did not provide additional details on the investigation into Grana.
Last week Peru's Congress passed legislation to expand a raft of new anti-graft rules and financial restrictions to Grana and other local partners of Odebrecht. (Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Paul Simao and Susan Thomas)
