Former Australis Manager Claims Lawyer Vivanco May Have Influenced 2022 Ruling Favoring Salmon Company

Original article: Exgerente de Australis acusa que Vivanco pudo estar tras fallo de 2022 favorable a la salmonera

A new accusation adds to the intricate legal challenges faced by former Supreme Court Minister Ángela Vivanco, who is currently under preventive detention for her alleged involvement in the so-called «Bielorrusa Scheme.»

Rubén Henríquez, who served as legal manager for the salmon company Australis between 2013 and 2022, filed a formal complaint with the 7th Guarantee Court in Santiago linking the former magistrate to a potential corrupt scheme aimed at securing a favorable ruling for the company from the highest court.

The accusation, which was accessed by the digital media Reportea, raises suspicions about the “shadow” advisory provided by lawyer Alberto Eguiguren, who reportedly received over $200 million for services that, according to the former executive, included irregular and privileged access to the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court when the former judge—currently implicated in bribery and money laundering—was a member.

 Million-Dollar Payments from Australis to Alberto Eguiguren

The heart of the accusation dates back to early 2022. The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court, composed at the time of ministers Ángela Vivanco, Mario Carroza, Adelita Ravanales, Juan Manuel Muñoz, and Sergio Muñoz, was deliberating the future of a key project for Australis: a salmon processing plant in Puerto Natales, Region of Magallanes, with a $100 million investment.

Although this project had received its Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA), environmental organizations and local communities had filed cassation resources with the Supreme Court seeking to annul it.

According to Henríquez’s account, it was against this backdrop that in December 2021, the company decided to hire the services of lawyer Alberto Eguiguren, recommended for his presumed effectiveness in obtaining favorable results in that very chamber of the country’s highest court.

The engagement was formalized through a fee proposal sent by Eguiguren on December 10, 2021. In it, the lawyer stipulated a fixed cost of 1,500 UF and an additional payment of 5,500 UF if Australis won the case in the Supreme Court, totaling $216 million.

However, Henríquez made it clear that “no lawyer from that firm, including Alberto Eguiguren, as noted in the Virtual Judicial Office, had power in the case nor participated in defining the strategy, drafting documents such as reports or writings, or represented Australis before the Supreme Court.”

The formal legal representation belonged to the firm Vergara, Galindo and Correa. According to the complainant, Eguiguren’s role was different.

The legal action includes a series of emails where Eguiguren requests minutes and reports from the sponsoring firm. The goal, as explained to sponsoring lawyer José Luis Fuenzalida, was “to have summarized information to present the case directly to one or more ministers of the Excellent Supreme Court’s Third Chamber.”

According to Henríquez, Eguiguren dismissed contacting Minister Sergio Muñoz, “whom he said he did not hold in good regard,” and Minister Adelita Ravanales, “whom he claimed could not be contacted outside of hearings.”

Supreme Court Vote Favorable to the Salmon Company

The accusation stated that on February 10, 2022, the Third Chamber internally voted on the cassation resources. The result, which would remain under absolute confidentiality for six months, was 4 votes in favor of dismissing the requests (Vivanco, Carroza, Ravanales, Juan Manuel Muñoz) and 1 against, by Sergio Muñoz.

According to Henríquez, Eguiguren informed Australis executives of the voting outcome that same day.

“That same day, and to our great surprise, Alberto Eguiguren informed Ricardo Misraji, José Luis Fuenzalida, and me via a WhatsApp phone call that Australis had won the case with the only dissenting vote from Minister Sergio Muñoz,” detailed the complaint, obtained by Reportea.

As evidence, Henríquez attached a screenshot of a WhatsApp message sent to his wife on that February 10: “4-1… SM [Sergio Muñoz],” he wrote.

Six months later, on August 22, 2022, the ruling became public, and Australis proceeded to pay the fee of 5,500 UF to the firm Russi & Eguiguren Spa, of which Eguiguren is a partner.

The purchase order, dated August 26, specified the description as “Strategic Advisory Supreme Court Case Dumestre.”

Furthermore, the complaint includes an email from then-General Manager of Australis, Andrés Lyon, dated August 24, 2022, discussing the payment: “Now I understand why they wanted to celebrate, and why AE couldn’t…” an allusion that, for Henríquez’s circle, suggests that Eguiguren could not celebrate beforehand because he had prior irregular knowledge of the ruling.

Reportea’s investigation reveals that suspicions regarding Eguiguren’s role are not new, as in March 2025, the media outlet El Mostrador had already reported, based on three sources linked to Australis, that the lawyer had communicated the outcome the same day of the voting in the Supreme Court.

Additionally, subsequent reports detailed how Eguiguren had achieved a prior success in the Third Chamber in September 2021, reversing a previous denial of a real estate project in Valparaíso, where Ángela Vivanco’s vote was also pivotal. This background was likely the key reason Australis hired him.

Eguiguren and Australis Deny Wrongdoing

Alberto Eguiguren denied all allegations in a written response to Reportea. He described Henríquez’s allegation as “an invented infamy” and part of a maneuver amid the legal battle between the former and current owners of Australis.

“This insinuation is an invented infamy by lawyer Rubén Henríquez (former prosecutor of Australis) and the close circle of Isidoro Quiroga, including his lawyers,” he said.

He indicated that the “maneuver” aims to tarnish Australis and its advisors, “to try to overcome the complex judicial situation that Mr. Henríquez and the Quiroga family are currently facing.”

“Quiroga lost an arbitration case in which he was ordered to pay over $300 million, is formally accused of fraud and disloyal administration, is being investigated for money laundering, and recently in January of this year, Australis sued him, his children, and his close circle – including lawyer Henríquez – for over $440 million,” he asserted.

Regarding his relationship with Vivanco, he stated: “She taught me classes over 40 years ago in college, but outside of that, I have no relationship or closeness with her. I have never known or had any contact with any past or current minister of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court.”

“Any other insinuation is a complete lie,” he emphasized.

For its part, Australis also issued a statement, explaining that it hired Russi & Eguiguren in December 2021 “as an advisor and coordinator” for a series of judicial proceedings, a role similar to what he would currently perform in defending the company against its former owner, Isidoro Quiroga. They denied any wrongdoing.

Henríquez’s complaint, filed on February 3, 2026, seeks to have these findings included in the investigation of the “Bielorrusa scheme” currently being processed by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Los Lagos. If successful, it could open a new angle in the already extensive case, connecting suspicions of corruption in the highest court with one of the country’s most powerful economic sectors, such as salmon farming.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office will need to evaluate whether the emails, messages, and bank transfers provided by the former legal manager constitute evidence of a new pattern of influence peddling within the Supreme Court or if, as the defendants assert, it is merely a strategy stemming from the conflict between Isidoro Quiroga and the Chinese company Joyvio, the current owner of Australis.