Arce, 62, did not seek reelection in an August vote that brought an end to two decades of leftist rule in Bolivia, with his presidency marred by critical shortages of fuel and foreign currency that sparked numerous protests.

The corruption probe stems from when Arce was minister of economy under socialist then-president Evo Morales, who was in office from 2006 to 2019.

Arce is accused of authorising transfers from the public treasury to the personal accounts of political leaders.

One alleged beneficiary was leftist former lawmaker Lidia Patty, arrested in the same case last week for allegedly receiving close to US$100,000 for a tomato cultivation project.

Sources in the prosecutor’s office told AFP that Arce will have to answer to charges of dereliction of duty and “economic misconduct.”

Vice President Edmand Lara vowed Wednesday that “everyone who has stolen from this country will return every last cent”.

Under Bolivian law, members of the outgoing executive branch may not leave the country for 90 days after a change in government.

In his first week in office, which started last month, pro-business conservative President Rodrigo Paz claimed to have unearthed “a cesspool” of graft by preceding leftist governments.

As an audit is done of public enterprises, prosecutors this week arrested six former executive of state oil company YPFB on corruption charges.

A former colleague, Maria Nela Prada, said Arce was detained in the capital and taken to a police office in a minibus with black-tinted windows.

She added the arrest had been a surprise and Arce had “not received any kind of notification”.