2023-11-15 03:04:40
Luis Hermosilla in the Congress of Chile, in November 2019. Chamber of Deputies
A corruption investigation involving market regulatory bodies was opened this afternoon in Chile after the media outlet Ciper released an audio by influential lawyer Luis Hermosilla in which he talks about payments from “a black box” to public officials. “in envelopes” to obtain information. The recording of the jurist, according to the media, was made in a meeting with his client Daniel Sauer, owner of the factoring company Factop and the stock brokerage STF, who was fined by the Financial Market Commission (CMF), the body that supervises the Chilean stock market. At the meeting, in which the lawyer Leonarda Villalobos was present, according to the record, the renowned criminal lawyer Hermosilla mentions that the money would go to people who work in the Internal Revenue Service (SII) and the CMF.
“We need a fund for expenses. A black box. And that black box… because an important part of this roe [asunto] It is arranged with money, which is passed like this, they are passed in an envelope. And, in fact, we already have the mess [un gran problema]because we are behind (…) What is the first bullshit [cosa] What needs to be done here: is to control all the information that comes out of the service (…) We have to have control of that door and whoever has the key to that door is an idiot. [un hombre] to whom we owe 10 million pesos [unos 11.200 dólares]”, dice the lawyer in the recording leaked by Ciper.
After hearing about the audio, the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor’s Office, headed by prosecutor Lorena Parra, opened an ex officio investigation to which a group of prosecutors specialized in matters of complex crimes will be assigned. In this regard, the national prosecutor, Ángel Valencia, pointed out that these are “very serious facts” and that the objective of the investigation is “to clarify these facts and determine if crimes were committed and which ones.” And he added: “We are talking about white collar crimes, committed by people from their offices. And when it comes to crimes of this nature, the complexity is usually greater. The number of procedures that must be carried out, the evidence that must be examined, among others. It is not that the causes are dilated or become more complex, because greater care is not put into them. It’s quite the opposite.”
Likewise, Valencia explained that these are “crimes that require expertise in investigating emails or reviewing those audios” and maintained that “we are going to provide all the necessary means for this investigation to be developed as quickly as possible.”
Luis Hermosilla is one of the most recognized lawyers in Chile, with transversal contacts. He was a partner of Andrés Chadwick, former Minister of the Interior of Sebastián Piñera (2018-2022), advisor to that portfolio in his Administration and, until the scandal broke out, he was the legal representative of Miguel Crispi (a militant of the Democratic Revolution, RD) , the chief of advisors to the president Gabriel Boric, on the edge of the Covenants case that the Public Ministry is investigating for the illegal transfers of money between foundations and departments of the State. Crispi announced tonight that he is terminating the contract with Hermosilla.
The jurist has participated in important cases. He was a representative of the family of the murdered senator and founder of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Jaime Guzmán, and advised La Moneda in the Huracán cases – which included a setup to incriminate Mapuche community members through the manipulation of evidence – and Luchsinger Mackay, the couple who died after a group of violent people burned down their house in southern Chile.
In the audio released by Ciper, Hermosilla acknowledges that he is aware that what he is planning is a crime: “This is a crime and it is the only way to do it. your catch [trabajo] here is assembling the box (…) because I want to be in good condition [hombre] to ask for more. I want to tighten it, I want to demand more efficiency. If he can block my computers, if he can burn me down an Internal Revenue office, I want the most, I want to tempt him.”
After learning of the recording, the SII delivered a statement in which they ruled out having knowledge of the facts and reported “the immediate conduct of an internal investigation to determine if there are antecedents that support the complaint.” If this is confirmed, adds the public body that is in charge of the application and supervision of all internal taxes in Chile, the corresponding measures will be adopted as quickly as possible, to pursue those responsible with all the tools provided by the current regulatory framework. The SII announces that all administrative measures will be adopted to avoid this type of situation that is not part of the values that it has promoted as an institution for 120 years.
The organization adds that they will provide their collaboration “with complete openness and willingness with all related institutions to determine possible legal responsibilities.”
The leak of the audio has caused a great impact in Chile this Tuesday night, both in the political and economic world, and in society itself, which in the last decade has repeatedly observed the abuses of the private and most powerful world.
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