Senator Gahona’s Daughter Worked for Yáber, Now Charged with Money Laundering, Before Interim Notary Appointment in San Miguel

Original article: Hija de senador Gahona (UDI) trabajó para Yáber, hoy imputado por lavado, antes de ser nombrada notaria interina en San Miguel

A web of hires and appointments involving Senator Sergio Gahona’s daughter and property registrar Sergio Yáber—currently suspended and charged with money laundering in connection with the Belarusian consortium Belaz Movitec—has come to light following an investigation by CIPER.

Details reveal how Paulina Gahona Rivera, the right-wing parliamentarian’s daughter, was employed by Yáber, and within a month of her contract ending, she was appointed as interim notary in San Miguel.

According to documents accessed by the digital media outlet, Paulina Gahona worked for the Property Registrar (CBR) of Puente Alto, managed by Sergio Yáber, from April 2022 to April 2023.

Inspection records from the First Civil Court of Puente Alto, which include employee payment lists, show her registered with pension contributions corresponding to a salary of $1.7 million.

The Connection: The Senator and the Registrar

The link that facilitated this hiring dates back to 2018, according to Senator Gahona himself. In response to inquiries from CIPER, the parliamentarian explained the origin of their relationship: “I have known Mr. Sergio Yáber since 2018 when we participated in social activities in Coquimbo.”

Regarding his daughter’s employment, the senator acknowledged his role as an intermediary: “When Mr. Sergio Yáber learned that my daughter was a law graduate from the University of Los Andes and lived in Santiago, he asked me if she might be interested in working in the registry system. I provided my daughter’s phone contact, they got in touch, and they established a contractual relationship from April 2022 to April 2023.”

From Property Registrar Employee to Interim Notary

Just one month after concluding her contract with Yáber, in May 2023, Paulina Gahona—who earned her law degree in 2018 and completed her professional internship in 2019 at the Governor’s Office of Santiago—was appointed as interim notary at the Second Notary of San Miguel. This high-responsibility position within the judicial system was conferred by the then-president of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Luis Sepúlveda.

This appointment gains significance with the revelation that the ex-minister Sepúlveda’s wife was also listed as employed in the payment records of the Property Registrar’s office run by Yáber. According to sources familiar with the registrar’s connections, cited by CIPER, both Gahona and Sepúlveda are part of his «network of friendships.»

When asked if he influenced Gahona’s appointment as a notary, Yáber avoided answering directly, stating, “These types of questions should be directed to the appropriate institutions.” Nevertheless, he did provide an assessment of the senator’s daughter’s performance.

“Paulina worked for about a year in the office and during that time had outstanding performance. I have the best professional impression of her,” he stated.

For his part, Senator Gahona distanced himself from any connections to those who appointed his daughter to the notarial role, arguing that he does not know Luis Sepúlveda and has never spoken with him.

Hiring Patterns and Yáber in Legal Trouble

Paulina Gahona’s situation is not an isolated case. The digital outlet previously revealed that Yáber also hired the brother of the judge from the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Carlos Farías.

This hiring pattern takes on special significance considering that both magistrates—Sepúlveda and Farías—were part of a group of eight judges from the same court who, in 2018, voted to include Sergio Yáber in the shortlist for the position of Property Registrar of Puente Alto, which he ultimately obtained through an appointment from the late former president Sebastián Piñera’s government.

The revelation of these hires occurs amid the serious legal situation that Yáber currently faces. The registrar is suspended and charged with money laundering in the case known as the “Belarusian Consortium Case.”

The summary against him arose from a case involving former Supreme Court Minister Ángela Vivanco, who is accused of having received bribes from the Chilean-Belarusian consortium Belaz Movitec (CBM) for issuing rulings that resulted in Codelco having to compensate the group approximately $17 billion.

Although Yáber is charged in this case, he has not yet been formally indicted. He is accused of participating in the laundering of these bribes, allegedly acting in concert with Vivanco’s partner, Gonzalo Miguieles; and the registrar of Chillán, Yamil Najle.

Specifically, he is accused of having participated in a money laundering scheme after receiving money from Migueles, a sum which, according to prosecutors, corresponds to bribes paid to the former magistrate for rulings favorable to CBM’s interests in the litigation against the state copper company.

In addition, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has announced that it will investigate Yáber for two new angles: a possible transfer of $1.7 million to Republican congressman Cristián Araya—identified in a wiretap by OS7 Carabineros—and the delivery of $1.6 million to Democrat senator Matías Walker.

The legislator justified the money as a contribution for purchasing an airline ticket to Canada for his son, based on a “long friendship” with Yáber, while Araya vehemently denied the accusations, stating he only met the property registrar during a rescue operation as a firefighter and that: “I have never received a peso from the gentleman,” he maintained.

However, he announced the temporary suspension of his participation in the parliamentary group.

The series of events—hiring the senator’s daughter, her subsequent appointment to a notarial position by a judge whose family also had working ties with the previous employer, and the hiring of relatives of other magistrates—paints a map of connections now under public scrutiny amidst the investigation into money laundering that has suspended Sergio Yáber from his duties as a registrar.