(Bloomberg) -- Peruvian prosecutors on Friday detained two people close to President Dina Boluarte, increasing pressure on an embattled leader who has been plagued by scandals and criminal investigations. 

Prosecutors said they had detained Boluarte’s brother Nicanor, as well as her lawyer, Mateo Castaneda, over allegations of undue influence over her administration. Complicating things, prosecutors suggested Boluarte’s administration may have tried to meddle with their detentions by dismissing a group of police agents who were supporting the probe just hours before the arrests.  

Boluarte said she would not be “distracted by minor matters” at a presentation on Friday, an apparent reference to the arrests. In the past she has repeatedly denied that her brother has influence in her administration. 

Sixteen months into Boluarte’s tenure, legal pressures keep mounting around her, while her popularity rating has dipped to 8%. Police raided her personal home in April. She also faces criminal investigations over her role in crushing protests that left 50 dead and over alleged illegal enrichment, for having worn Rolex watches she was unlikely to afford. Castaneda, one of the detainees, had been defending Boluarte in the so-called Rolex case. 

While Peru is known for impulsively firing its presidents, Boluarte has so far managed to stave off impeachment attempts thanks to support from a fragmented congress. But the political crises are taking a toll on the country’s economy. S&P Global Ratings recently downgraded Peru’s credit rating to one notch above junk due to the impact of political uncertainty on economic growth.  

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