SANTIAGO – A corruption scandal detected in Carabineros de Chile has gained importance following a public hearing that reveals 43 people had appropriated a figure equivalent to $26 million USD.
The attorney assigned to the case, Miguel Angel Orellana, said in the hearing yesterday that in recent investigations, they had found 528 million pesos (around $781,000 USD), a figure with which the embezzlement reached 17,528 million pesos.
The 43 people involved in the embezzlement scandal for a figure equivalent to $26 million USD caused an embarrassing situation for a police institution that enjoyed some acknowledgment by the population.
The court decreed total house arrest today for nine other accused, prohibition to leave the country and establish communication with any other of the accused during the investigation. The new accused are Raul Albayay, Javier Gonzalez, Ronaldo Sanzana, Sergio Gonzalez, Jose Manuel Valenzuela, Charles Villarroel and Jaime Astudillo.
As it is a minor relevance case, the 7th Court of Guarantee in Santiago de Chile determined partial house arrest, prohibition to leave the country and establish communication with any other of the accused for Sacha de la Cuadra.
Although the scandal is gaining in proportion on a daily basis, the Justice Ministry announced that the number of those accused of the embezzlement could rise to 80 in the coming weeks.
