Chilean prosecutors are set to formally charge Alberto Larraín and María Constanza Gómez with six counts of embezzlement on May 25. The hearing will take place at the Antofagasta Guarantee Court, according to reports from latercera.com.
The investigation focuses on irregularities found in agreements signed by the ProCultura Foundation with the Antofagasta Regional Government and the regional Ministry of Housing. Regional prosecutor Juan Castro Bekios is leading the inquiry into the management of these public funds.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is closely scrutinizing the agreement for the "Recovery of Facades in the Antofagasta Historic Concession Zone." This contract, totaling $629,815,000, was signed by Governor Ricardo Díaz, Gómez, and Pablo López.
Investigators are also examining transfers exceeding $500 million from the Ministry of Housing to the foundation. The Comptroller General's Office has detected flaws in financial reporting and direct awards in at least four separate agreements.
Investigation Background
This branch of the ProCultura investigation is considered one of the most complex aspects of the broader "convenios" (agreements) scandal. The process emerged from investigations triggered by the Democracia Viva scandal in the same region.
The investigation has also had high-level political repercussions. The Coquimbo prosecutor, Patricio Cooper, even requested the interception of communications belonging to Miguel Crispi, the former chief of staff to President Gabriel Boric.
The Supreme Court previously ruled certain actions taken by the Prosecutor's Office illegal, such as the interception of communications involving Josefina Huneeus. As a result, the case was transferred to the regional prosecutor in Antofagasta, Castro Bekios.
This is not the first time the foundation's executives have faced charges. In a previous instance, prosecutors attempted to charge them with fraud against the Treasury in the Metropolitan Region, though requests for pretrial detention were denied.
Larraín's defense attorney, Cristián Arias, has criticized the Public Prosecutor's Office's position. “The Prosecution will once again attempt to argue that the failure to fully execute the agreements, this time in Antofagasta, constitutes a crime,” Arias told La Tercera.
Arias maintained that this legal theory has already been rejected in Santiago and that he does not expect a different outcome in this upcoming hearing.
