Lawyer Luis Hermosilla to Face Charges of Bribery, Corruption, and Breach of Confidentiality

Original article: Chats y favores al piñerismo: Hermosilla será formalizado por cohecho, soborno y violación de secreto

Lawyer Luis Hermosilla is set for a formal charge on October 26 for serious offenses including aggravated bribery, corruption, and breach of confidentiality, as part of an investigation that links his communications with former prosecutor Manuel Guerra. This decision was made by the Fourth Criminal Court of Santiago following a request from prosecutor Mario Carrera for formal charges based on conversations retrieved from the attorney’s mobile phone.

 This case derives from a parallel investigation that has already placed Hermosilla under house arrest, revealing a network of favors and leaks purportedly operational during former President Sebastián Piñera’s administration.

According to the allegations, between 2016 and 2023, Guerra leaked confidential information from investigations he directed as head of the Eastern Regional Prosecutor’s Office, directly benefitting individuals connected to the lawyer. The recovered chats indicate  the provision of sensitive information, with the former prosecutor acting as a privileged informant for Hermosilla. This exchange of information included cases impacting political figures from the then-ruling party, even naming the former president among those favored by such leaks.

As reported by CIPER, the investigation is also looking into former minister Andrés Chadwick Piñera, but sources familiar with the inquiry indicate that no charges have been filed against him at this time.

Triangular Structure Among Hermosilla, Guerra, and Chadwick

 During Guerra’s formal charge in March, during which he was ordered into preventive detention, Judge Guillermo Rodríguez outlined a «triangular structure» involving the former prosecutor, Hermosilla, and Chadwick, where confidential information was channeled to the former minister with the expectation of political and professional gains.

«We must keep in mind that there is a structure we might call triangular between Guerra, Hermosilla, and Chadwick. The conversations confirm that the information was provided to Hermosilla with the explicit expectation that it would be passed on to [Andrés] Chadwick Piñera. This structure shows that the infringements aimed at positioning the accused favorably within a political circle that could support him professionally,» indicated the aforementioned media outlet.

The magistrate emphasized that the hiring of Guerra at the Universidad San Sebastián, facilitated by Chadwick, represented «the liquidation of corrupt credit accumulated over 5 years», thereby consolidating the agreed benefits in exchange for informational favors.

The formal hearing for Hermosilla was scheduled just days after the Public Ministry unsuccessfully sought to reduce Guerra’s preventive detention, a request that the court denied in light of opposition from complainants Mauricio Daza and Diego Ibáñez – the latter representing former Communist Party deputy Hugo Gutiérrez – resulting in the former prosecutor remaining incarcerated at the Anexo Capitán Yáber.

For his part, Hermosilla, who has been charged in other cases for bribery, tax offenses, and money laundering, remains under house arrest.

 This latest procedural step reinforces the thesis that a network of complicities has operated for years, using privileged information as a bargaining chip for mutual benefits between public officials and high-level political actors.

On October 26, the court will assess whether the evidence presented by prosecutor Carrera is sufficient to uphold the charges of aggravated bribery, corruption, and breach of confidentiality facing Hermosilla.