Original article: Lavín León seguirá en prisión preventiva: querellantes advierten que tomó contacto con personas que aún deben declarar en la causa

Joaquín Lavín León Remains in Preventive Detention Amid Concerns of Witness Tampering in Ongoing Investigation

The Seventh Criminal Court of Santiago rejected the defense’s request and determined on Monday to maintain the preventive detention of Joaquín Lavín León, who has been incarcerated since May 8 at the Capitán Yáber Penitentiary Annex; this came as claimants warned that the former deputy had contacted individuals who still need to testify in the case.

The former member of the UDI party is under investigation by the prosecution for his alleged involvement in a series of crimes including fraud against the Treasury, influence peddling, forgery, and malicious use of private commercial instruments.

He is also implicated in influence peddling during his wife Cathy Barriga’s tenure as mayor of Maipú, as well as in malicious use of electoral data.

During the hearing to review the precautionary measures, attorney José Pedro Silva, acting as a claimant on behalf of the Municipality of Maipú, firmly stated before the court that the release of the accused poses a «latent danger» to the normal progress of the proceedings.

According to the lawyer, the former deputy’s approach to key witnesses who have yet to testify indicates a clear risk of manipulation, obstruction, and coercion that could hinder the judicial process.

He further noted that allowing him to be released could block the progress of pending steps necessary for clarifying the facts.

However, the judge of the Seventh Criminal Court decided to dismiss the claimants’ warnings as grounds for her ruling. Despite the seriousness of the claims regarding contact with witnesses, the judge chose not to base her decision on the risk of obstructing the investigation, even omitting a direct statement on this specific point.

Nevertheless, the court confirmed the preventive detention regardless of these matters, arguing that the nature and severity of the investigated crimes are so serious that they directly undermine public trust and threaten the confidence citizens place in State institutions, factors which alone justify keeping the accused behind bars.

The hearing to review the precautionary measures was held at the request of the defense of the ex-parliamentarian, led by attorney Cristóbal Bonacic, who sought to overturn the more severe measure, a request that was ultimately denied by the judiciary.

Fiscal Damage Exceeding $240 Million

Lavín León is facing a complex investigation that encompasses multiple criminal aspects. According to the prosecution, the former parliamentarian, whose parliamentary immunity was revoked by the Supreme Court last February, allegedly employed a repeated and systematic scheme to divert resources for personal and electoral purposes, resulting in a fiscal damage exceeding $240 million.

This scheme includes the issuance of ideologically false invoices for campaign expenses, the creation of software allegedly funded with legislative institution resources, and suspected acts of corruption within the Municipality of Maipú while his wife Cathy Barriga served as mayor.

The investigation suggests that a total of 34 false invoices were issued between June 2017 and November 2022. These documents were allegedly created by two printing houses represented by another co-defendant, Juan Silva Morales, and directed to the former legislator through the mediation of Arnoldo Domínguez.

Illegal UDI Campaign Financing with Platform Funded by Congress

A second focus of the investigation centers around the SocialTazk digital platform, developed by the company Modo 74. The prosecution claims that this system, designed to gather voter data and send mass messages for electoral purposes, was developed with public funds. The prosecution further stated that the tool may have even been offered to other candidates from the same political sector, which could constitute a scheme for illegal campaign financing.

SocialTazk was created in 2018 by Felipe Vázquez Diéguez, a computer engineer and advisor to Lavín León, through the company Modo 74 SpA. Although the ex-deputy is not listed as the owner, the prosecution identifies him as the «driving force and financier» behind the project.

The Eastern Prosecutor’s Office argued that it is evident that the information gathering conducted by Lavín León and his parliamentary team was part of a strategy to create a nationwide data base for the UDI, with ‘expressly electoral purposes, especially for use in the set of elections scheduled for 2020 and 2021.

Following the decision to keep him in custody, Joaquín Lavín León’s legal team announced they will exhaust all available legal avenues and that in the coming days they will file an appeal with the Court of Appeals with the aim of overturning the ruling of the court of guarantee and securing the ex-parliamentarian’s release.