Codelco Expands Legal Complaint Against Ex-Lawmakers Gabriel Silber and Aldo Cornejo for Bribery and Money Laundering in «Belarus Scheme»

Original article: Codelco amplía querella a exdiputados Gabriel Silber y Aldo Cornejo por soborno y lavado de activos en «trama bielorrusa» In the ongoing case known as the «Belarus Scheme,» the state-owned company Codelco officially announced on Monday, April 13, the expansion of its criminal complaint, now including former lawmakers Aldo Cornejo and Gabriel Silber. According to various national media outlets, the complaint was filed in the 7th Court of Guarantee in Santiago, against potential crimes of bribery and money laundering, all related to the irregularities identified in the legal proceedings between Codelco and the Belaz Movitec Consortium (CBM). The complaint also targets María Pía Peñaloza López, secretary at the law firm «Lagos, Vargas & Silber Legal Advisors».

It is important to note that in this case, former Supreme Court minister, Ángela Vivanco, is currently in preventive detention after being accused of receiving money from Eduardo Lagos and Mario Vargas, lawyers for CBM, to favor the Belarusian company in its dispute with Codelco, which ultimately resulted in a payment of over $18 billion by the Chilean copper producer. In this context, as reported by El Periodista, Gabriel Silber was involved in the legal actions against Codelco, personally arguing in the Court of Appeals in Copiapó and the Supreme Court, and subsequently received transfers amounting to over $65 million, allegedly «from the fees paid by the Belarusian consortium with the money that Codelco disbursed after the legal dispute, fully aware that the funds were directly resulting from the bribery of Vivanco,» as stated by the aforementioned media outlet. Meanwhile, Aldo Cornejo is accused of acting «de facto» as a representative of CBM, «having prior knowledge of the outcome that could only stem from the bribery of Vivanco,» and like his colleague Silber, «would have received transfers of at least $44 million from the law firm’s account, corresponding to his share of the profits derived from the rulings obtained through bribes to the former minister,» adds the report from El Periodista.

Regarding María Pía Peñaloza, she is being accused of coordinating with Harold Pizarro, owner of the currency exchange house Inversiones Suiza, to convert the obtained funds into dollars and deliver them to Gonzalo Migueles, partner of former minister Vivanco. We will continue to provide updates.