Announcing his resignation, Otarola told reporters in Lima he had been framed by political opponents.
Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola has resigned after audio recordings, allegedly featuring him using his influence to help his love interest get government contracts, were released by the media.
Otarola tendered his resignation on Tuesday after television programme Panorama broadcast the recordings over the weekend.
Announcing his resignation, Otarola told reporters in Lima he had been framed by political opponents.
According to Al Jazeera, he claimed his rivals had manipulated and edited the recordings, which he said were made before he entered office in 2022.
However, Otarola said on X that he was resigning “to give peace of mind to the president and recompose the cabinet”.
In the audio recordings, Otarola, 57, appears to be speaking to Yazire Pinedo.
The 25-year-old woman landed contracts worth $14,000 this year to do archive and administrative work for the government.
In one of the recordings, he allegedly tells her: “Tell me, then, my love, so we can talk. You know these things are annoying, they are a pain, but you also know that I love you.”
Otarola was ordered home from Canada by President Dina Boluarte after the scandal erupted over the weekend.
Otarola in a post on X on Monday denied any violation of Peruvian labour laws or other wrongdoing.
“I understand the gravity of the political circumstances, but I repeat that I did not do anything illegal,” he said.
Pinedo said on Tuesday that the leaked conversations with Otarola, who is married and has five children, were from 2021. She acknowledged having had a brief “perhaps sentimental relationship” with him.
The president’s office in a statement said that it would hear Otarola out before deciding what to do. Prosecutors said they will investigate him for possible conflict of interest and “illegal sponsorship”.
With Otarola’s departure, the other 18 members of the cabinet must also resign, according to Peruvian law. The president can choose to reinstate each of them.