New Lawsuit Accuses Former PDG President of Using Forged Power to Open Party Bank Accounts

Original article: Nueva querella acusa a expresidente del PDG de usar un poder falso para abrir cuentas bancarias del partido

The internal crisis of the Partido de la Gente (PDG) deepens with a fresh legal angle. The former vice president of the party, Jorge Passadore, has filed a criminal complaint against the party’s former leader, Luis Moreno, alleging the forgery of both his signature and that of former congresswoman Yovana Ahumada.

According to the legal action, accepted for processing by the Seventh Guarantee Court on Saturday, July 25, Moreno allegedly used these forged documents to open and manage party bank accounts at Banco Estado, constituting crimes of forgery, malicious use of a private instrument, identity theft, and fraudulent administration of state benefits.

CIPER reports that the lawsuit outlines a modus operandi dating back to the party’s early days, particularly documented in a record from a central board meeting held on August 27, 2021, in Coronel. Moreno is accused of manipulating this document to falsely indicate that broad powers were granted to him and three other officials to operate bank accounts and manage the party’s assets. This document was then notarized, a crucial step that allowed Moreno to open at least three bank accounts for the PDG.

The forgery allegations came to light nearly four years later. Passadore stated to the PDI that he did not attend the Coronel meeting and that the electronic signature on the record is not his, as he did not even possess that type of digital identification at the time.

«I did not attend that board meeting in my capacity as vice president of the Partido de la Gente to give this power (…) nor did I grant this power or sign electronically as stated in the document,» he affirmed in testimony that was accessed by the investigative outlet.

Former congresswoman Yovana Ahumada also supported this account, stating in her testimony that she never participated in the meeting in Coronel nor signed the record.

«In fact, I do not have an electronic signature, either currently or at that time,» she emphasized.

PDG Under Legal Scrutiny

This new lawsuit is not an isolated incident; it adds to a series of investigations placing the PDG under legal scrutiny. Since January 2024, the Centro Norte Prosecutor’s Office has been investigating Moreno for a similar complaint filed by former congresswoman Karen Medina alleging forgery of signatures on the party’s legal incorporation record. In this case, a forensic analysis by the PDI has already confirmed that the signatures of former Supreme Tribunal member, Marjorie Catalán, are indeed false.

The situation exacerbates with an imminent complaint that, according to La Segunda, the Electoral Service (Servel) will file against the party for unaccounted expenses in its financial statements.

Involved parties’ explanations reveal deep tension in the administrative and financial management of the organization. Passadore justified his ignorance of Moreno’s actions by asserting that his role was strictly political, while management and legal matters were handled by others, including Moreno himself.

For his part, the former president, contacted by CIPER, declined to provide his account of events and stated he would wait for the investigations to clarify his situation.

The accumulation of these cases, alongside rejected financial statements that have already resulted in significant losses, places the PDG in a critical position, with a real risk of facing legal dissolution before the Tricel.