“Pandora Papers”: an open investigation against Chilean President Sebastian Piñera

The survey is linked to the sale of a mining company by a company owned by the children of Sebastian Piñera.

Le Monde with AFP

The Chilean floor announced, Friday, October 8, the opening of an investigation against the President, Sebastian Piñera, concerning the sale of a mining company by a company owned by his children, an operation cited in the investigation “Pandora Papers” of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which Le Monde is a partner.

“The Attorney General (…) has decided to open a criminal investigation on the facts associated with what is known as” Pandora Papers “, related to the purchase and sale of the mining company Dominga, in connection with the family of President Piñera, “said Marta Herrera, head of the anti-corruption unit in the Prosecutor’s Office.

Dominga Mining Project Highly Contested

According to the details reported by CIPER and Labot, Chilean media incorporating ICIJ, the Piñera family sold its shares of the Mining Project and Port Dominga in December 2010, a largely operated transaction operated on the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The payment in three components was conditioned that the place where the project to be developed is not declared “environmental protection zone” or transformed into national reserve.

A decision that depended on the government, then already led by Mr. Piñera, who made his first term (2010-2014). Dominga’s mining project is strongly contested because of its impact on the environment. Chilean President has stressed that reported facts “are not new and are publicly known” since 2017, when an investigation “in depth” had established that no crime had been committed on its part.

/Media reports.