Former Prosecutor Vinko Fodich Arrested in Money Laundering Investigation Involving $5.79 Billion in Cash Deposits and Over $4 Billion in Cross Transfers

Original article: Exfiscal Fodich detenido: pesquisa por lavado incluye $5.790 millones en depósitos en efectivo y más de $4 mil millones en transferencias cruzadas

On the morning of Wednesday, September 9, a significant milestone was reached in the investigation led by the Supraterritorial Prosecutor’s Office against an alleged money laundering operation, marked by the arrest of former Ñuñoa prosecutor, Vinko Fodich.

According to reports from CIPER, the operation also included the apprehension of three officials from the Police Investigative Agency (PDI)—two officers and one agent—bringing the total number of arrests to at least seven individuals, among whom is Luis Moraga Parisi, a cousin of former presidential candidate Franco Parisi.

The investigation, which has been developing over recent weeks, has focused on the substantial flow of money that passed through the accounts of a currency exchange linked to the criminal defense lawyer and two other associates, revealing a financial network that exceeds 9 billion pesos, of which 5.79 billion correspond to cash deposits and over $4 billion to cross transfers.

The origins of this inquiry date back to August, when the Supraterritorial Prosecutor’s Office requested the lifting of bank secrecy for former prosecutor Fodich after uncovering direct links between the lawyer and a structure dedicated to money laundering.

This prosecutor’s office, specialized in combating organized crime nationally, discovered that Fodich was the owner, along with Chinese national Tao Jiang and former PPD council candidate, Luis Muñoz, of the company Change Panda SpA.

In reviewing the financial movements of this currency exchange, cash deposits totaling 5.79 billion pesos were detected. However, the banking investigation expanded to include a dozen individuals and about 30 legal entities, recording cross transfers exceeding $4 billion, contributing to the hypothesis of an alleged operational money laundering network.

The former prosecutor is not only associated with the currency exchange Change Panda SpA but also has potential ties to another of his companies, Fodich Andrade Ltda, which offers legal advisory and representation services. As revealed in August by the program Informe Especial, this company was allegedly used to receive funds through a bank account Fodich maintains at Banco Santander.

CIPER has also scrutinized the professional connections of Fodich with individuals of Chinese origin, a pattern that recurs among several of his most controversial clients. Among them is businessman Luis Villa, who acknowledged that he had contacted Senator Camila Flores to offer financial support for her campaign using funds originating from Chinese nationals.

Additionally, the firm also represented Haiwei Xu, who has been labeled a person of interest in a prosecutor’s investigation focused on the operations of the Chinese mafia in Estación Central. He has also been investigated for crimes ranging from smuggling and counterfeiting to operating illegal casinos and kidnapping a worker, although most of these cases were closed by the prosecutorial body.

Fodich’s Links with the Chinese Mafia and Lawsuit Against Camila Flores

The former prosecutor’s client list includes an Asian national connected to drug trafficking with the Albanian mafia and a member of the Chinese mafia Clan Chen, solidifying a defense profile now closely tied to the money laundering investigations.

Fodich’s most recent public appearance before his arrest was related to a civil lawsuit against Senator Camila Flores, where he represented the owner of a printing company claiming payment for the manufacturing of magnets for the 2025 parliamentary campaign.

This case arose after an offer of funding that the legislator received from businessman Luis Villa, who stated to Radio Bio Bío that the contribution would come from a group of Chinese entrepreneurs. The connections between Villa and Xu, both represented by Fodich, were investigated by CIPER last July, identifying Xu as the only Chinese national partner of Villa, as part of a web of commercial and legal ties now under the scrutiny of the Supraterritorial Prosecutor’s Office.