New Evidence Uncovered in Vivanco Case: Payments to Partner Linked to Supreme Court Rulings Favoring Belarusian Consortium

Original article: Revelan circuito de pagos en Caso exSuprema Vivanco: Los dólares que llegaron a su pareja tras fallos «trama bielorrusa»

FASTCHECK Uncovers Payment Circuit: Transactions to Ex-Minister Vivanco’s Partner Coincide with Rulings Favoring Belarusian Consortium

According to an investigation by FASTCHECK, the Prosecutor’s Office is probing a suspected payment circuit within the so-called Belarusian scheme, which appears to have facilitated money transfers from lawyers representing the Belaz Movitec Consortium (CBM) to Gonzalo Migueles Oteiza, the partner of former Supreme Court Minister Ángela Vivanco. The details accessed by FASTCHECK—including statements from the owners of the currency exchange house Inversiones Suiza Limitada and a report from OS7—indicate that these transactions occurred shortly after rulings from the Court’s Third Chamber that favored CBM.

The specialized site, FASTCHECK, obtained statements from Harold Pizarro, owner of Inversiones Suiza and a suspect in bribery and money laundering, and his son Cristián, a worker at the establishment. Cristián Pizarro stated, «My role was to receive certain transfers, then exchange the money for cash and deliver it to individuals.» Both accounts detail a circuit involving fragmented transfers to personal accounts and checks issued by companies linked to CBM’s lawyers, coordinated through María Pía Peñaloza, secretary to the accused Eduardo Lagos.

The first transaction reportedly took place on February 9, 2024, when $20 million was transferred from companies linked to CBM’s lawyers to the accounts of Cristián Pizarro and his son-in-law, as instructed directly by Lagos’s office: «She (María Pía) asked if I could make transfers; I said not to my account due to the amount, so it was done to Cristian’s account and that of Mr. Morales,» Harold Pizarro revealed. The money was converted to $20,304 and delivered in installments. Cristián identified one of the recipients as Gonzalo Migueles after recognizing him in a newspaper photo, noting: «The male person seen in the photo I recognize as one who came to collect money… on that occasion, I handed over $10,152.» The OS7 report, cited by FASTCHECK, connects this delivery to a ruling from the Third Chamber on February 8 that accepted a challenge from CBM.

A second operation occurred on February 28, 2024, for $10 million via a check from Lagos Asesorías Legales. Cristián Pizarro stated: «My father told me someone would come to deliver a check for $10,000,000… and in exchange, they were to receive the equivalent in dollars ($10,131).» Harold Pizarro recounted that his son informed him that the same individual from the previous operation, Gonzalo Migueles, withdrew the cash. The OS7 report allegedly confirmed Migueles’s phone location was at the lawyers’ office on February 27 and at the currency exchange location the next day during the delivery, linking the payment to the fact that the same day, February 27, the Third Chamber rejected challenges from Codelco, benefitting CBM.

In conclusion, FASTCHECK states that, according to the OS7 report, payments received by Migueles «could correspond to compensation» for the rulings handed down by the Third Chamber, noting a temporal coincidence between the money transfers and judicial decisions in favor of the Belarusian consortium.

Access the complete FASTCHECK publication

Operation Swiss: The Dollars Received by Gonzalo Migueles Days After Ángela Vivanco’s Rulings