Criminal Complaint Filed Against Justice Secretary in Kast’s Administration in La Araucanía for Breach of Duty and Mismanagement

Original article: Justicia admite querella criminal contra Seremi de Justicia del gobierno de Kast en La Araucanía por prevaricación y administración desleal

The courts have accepted a criminal complaint filed by the Regional Government of La Araucanía against former officials, executives, and advisors of the Regional Agency for Productive Development over alleged mismanagement and breach of duty in executing a $9 billion program.

Among those involved is former governor Luciano Rivas and the current Justice Secretary in José A. Kast’s government, Stephanie Caminondo, who served as legal advisor to the Agency during the execution of the Mipyme program that is the subject of the legal action. Both have been named in the complaint.

In a video, the regional governor and president of the board of the Regional Agency for Productive Development, René Saffirio, detailed that «the prejudice to the regional assets exceeds 5.8 billion pesos in the framework of the competitive fund program called Economic Reactivation of Mipymes.»

«The complaint claims that the selection processes were manipulated to favor circles of friends and family of the authorities, and even the competition’s bases were altered to admit 412 applications that did not meet legal requirements,» asserted the regional authority of La Araucanía.

For Saffirio, «when there are such serious allegations, our obligation is not to remain silent, but to turn to justice.»

«It’s important to clarify that we are not pursuing individuals; we are demanding accountability. Those of us entrusted with managing public resources do not receive a blank check to favor some, but rather to develop the region and support vulnerable groups, and this is a sacred mandate of integrity,» emphasized the governor.

Finally, René Saffirio asserted that mismanagement «is a betrayal of the trust of the entire region. We will not allow networks of personal interests to stifle the development of La Araucanía.»

Justice Secretary in Kast’s Administration

Meanwhile, journalist Nicolás Yáñez of N Prensa reported that there is already an administrative investigation regarding this case, and the Comptroller’s Office is conducting a parallel investigation.

«Stephanie Caminondo was the legal advisor to the Regional Agency for Productive Development when the MIPYME program was executed. $9 billion were distributed. 65% of what was executed was flagged by the subsequent administration,» the journalist revealed in a post on social media X.

«The Kast government appointed her as Justice Secretary for La Araucanía. There has been no official comment on whether they were aware of these matters at the time of her appointment (…) The question the Kast government has not answered is: Did they know?» inquired Yáñez.

Furthermore, according to La Tercera, a critical point in the case lies within the Strategic Evaluation Committee, «comprised of the defendants Luciano Rivas, Juan Pablo Leonelli, and Cristian Salas, which is responsible for determining the projects whose award was recommended to the Board. Its members purportedly intervened in favor of individuals linked to their circle without disqualifying themselves, circumventing control regulations and abstention duties,» the outlet reported.

We will continue to provide updates.