Mario Vargas Paid $12.5 Million to Travel Agency for Cruise with Simpertigue: Defense Fails to Present Documented Reimbursement

Original article: Mario Vargas desembolsó $12,5 millones en la agencia del crucero previo al viaje con Simpertigue: defensa aún no muestra reembolso

In a new development in the investigation into the so-called «Belorussian angle» of the Hermosilla case, attention has shifted to the source of the funds that financed a Mediterranean cruise taken by suspended Supreme Court Minister Diego Simpertigue, his partner Gilda Miranda, and lawyers Mario Vargas and Eduardo Lagos in April 2023. While the magistrate’s defense claims that he funded his trip, available documentation reveals that Vargas was the one who made a payment of $12.5 million to the organizing travel agency just days before the cruise, and no records of the promised reimbursement have been provided.

The contradiction came to light on Wednesday, December 10, when the Constitutional Accusation Review Commission received documentation submitted by Simpertigue’s defense attorney, Felipe Lizama. Among the papers was an invoice from the Chilean agency Goes Travel World, issued in the minister’s name on March 31, 2023, for $4.1 million, detailing: «Costa Esmeralda Cruise, April 10-17, Suite Cabin.»

However, as previously established by CIPER, the payment for this service did not come from the magistrate’s accounts. Bank records obtained by the investigative outlet indicate that lawyer Mario Vargas made two payments to Goes Travel World using his Banco de Chile credit card on March 9, 2023: one for $5.4 million and another for $7 million, totaling $12.5 million. This payment was made eight days after the Supreme Court, with votes from Simpertigue and then-Minister Ángela Vivanco, issued a ruling favoring Inmobiliaria Fundamenta on a project in Ñuñoa.

Vargas, along with Lagos and former deputy Gabriel Silber, were advisors to the property company and received $414 million for their legal strategy aimed at disqualifying the minister of the Third Chamber, where the Fundamenta case was processed, Sergio Muñoz, allowing Simpertigue to review the matter.

Additionally, following the favorable ruling for Fundamenta, Lagos, Vargas, and Silber filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the state on behalf of Plaza Egaña SpA concerning the project’s suspension.

The total amount paid by Vargas coincides with the figure invoiced by the agency to Simpertigue and his partner. According to verified data by CIPER, six individuals attended the cruise: Lagos and Vargas, along with their wives; plus the minister and the notary. According to the invoice, the charge of $4.1 million corresponds to a Suite Cabin, meant for two people.

«Three couples went on that trip, so the total cost exceeds $12 million, which was paid by Vargas,» stated the investigative outlet.

Defense Explanations Fail to Convince the Review Commission

Before the review commission, attorney Felipe Lizama admitted that Vargas made the initial cruise payment but claimed that there was a subsequent reimbursement from the minister.

“Regarding the ticket, regarding the cruise, the information I have, or rather the relationship I have, is that Mario Vargas had the tickets, purchased them with his card, and the minister later paid him back. Just for the cruise,” the criminal lawyer stated.

When the parliamentary body requested supporting evidence of this repayment, the defense attorney acknowledged that he had not included those documents and asserted that they were being sought. “We are looking for it, but yes. We have it, and it’s easy to verify; it’s a matter of checking the transfers that Mario Vargas has and the deposit receipt,” he argued.

When questioned by the commission’s president, Deputy Maite Orsini, regarding why, after providing around 300 documents to support his defense, he omitted this crucial evidence, Lizama excused himself: “Madam President, because to reconstruct all this in a 10-day period, there are documents that we possibly did not have in sight, but we are working to obtain them.”

In light of this situation, the commission agreed to set a deadline for Lizama to submit that documentation, as well as the records backing the airfare payments made prior to the cruise, which had also not been submitted.

Silence and Unverified Claims

When contacted by CIPER, both Mario Vargas’s defense and Minister Simpertigue’s defense refused to clarify doubts or provide evidence confirming the final payment.

Attorney Sergio Contreras, representing Vargas, declined to comment when asked if his client’s payments corresponded to the cruise.

Meanwhile, attorney Lizama and the minister’s communications officer limited their statements to affirming, without any proof, that Simpertigue covered his expenses.

In response to CIPER, Lizama indicated he did not have access to the banking information obtained by the media.

«So I cannot recognize any connection to my client’s trip; I can insist that he and his wife covered their costs out of their own pocket,» asserted the criminal lawyer, while the Supreme Court’s press officer stated that «all travel expenses were paid by Diego Simpertigue» and that «more evidence will be provided at the appropriate instances and time.»

Simpertigue’s Legal Situation Becomes Increasingly Complicated

This Thursday, the review commission unanimously ratified the constitutional accusation against Minister Diego Simpertigue, which will now be analyzed by the Chamber of Deputies to determine if it will be declared admissible and continue its processing to the Senate.

The body voted again after the Wednesday resolution was nullified to review last-minute evidence submitted by the magistrate’s defense, which was deemed «fraudulent» and did not change the analysis of the accusation at all, according to the deputies.

“The evidence that was attached does not prove anything; there is no evidence that allows us to conclude that the minister paid for his travels, his airfare, or his cruises. The documents provided were an invoice in the minister’s name for the cruise, which does not necessarily prove that he directly incurred that expense,” stated the president of the commission, Maite Orsini.

The investigation linked to the case known as the «Belorussian Doll» centers on Simpertigue’s actions and possible irregularities in the trial between state-owned Codelco and the Belarusian consortium Belaz Movitec, which is being investigated for alleged payments made to favor the latter company.

The case has unveiled a pattern of trips by lawyers who had cases in the Court. The first trip disclosed was a cruise in June 2024 with Eduardo Lagos, just two days after ruling in favor of CBM in the litigation against Codelco. Subsequently, CIPER revealed this April 2023 trip, which occurred following the ruling in favor of Fundamenta.

The judicial investigation must determine whether the purchase of those tickets constituted an undue compensation to the magistrate for his votes in cases where traveling lawyers were involved. The lack of evidence regarding the reimbursement for the 2023 cruise contrasts with the documentation the defense did provide for a later trip, increasing scrutiny on this controversial relationship between the minister and the criminal attorneys.

The legal predicament of the suspended Supreme Court minister has become increasingly complicated, as, alongside the approval of his constitutional accusation by the review commission, the Los Lagos Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that he is now under indictment for the case of the Belorussian Doll.