Scandal-hit Peru cabinet resigns

Alan Garcia, Peru's president, has accepted the resignation of his entire cabinet in an effort to tackle a growing corruption scandal over oil concessions.

Ahead of the move on Friday, Garcia had faced calls from opposition leaders to sack cabinet members after audio tapes emerged linking some of them to a plan to award oil contracts in exchange for bribes.

"The president has accepted our resignations ... and will proceed to reshuffle the cabinet," Jorge del Castillo, the outgoing prime minister, said.

The cabinet had submitted their resignations on Thursday.

The kickback scandal surfaced on Sunday when nine audio tapes were leaked to news media.

The tapes appeared to reveal alleged backroom negotiations between government officials, a former congressman and a top oil baron, in an alleged bid-rigging scheme that would have Norway's Discover Petroleum win five oil exploration concessions.

Del Castillo is one of those named during the conversations caught on the tapes.

He has denied any wrong-doing.

Investigation planned

Juan Valdivia, the former mines and energy minister, and two energy officials had earlier been forced to step down over the scandal.

Garcia accepted his cabinet's resignation, saying: "I told them they should not be ashamed of losing their jobs because of politics."