Operator News
Chile – Charges brought forward in Chile’s slot corruption case
By Phil - 8 July 2019
An investigation into possible corruption in the slot industry is continuing to make progress.
The Prosecutor’s Office of High Complexity Offenses has now decided to formalise the charges made against two ex directors of the Association of Operators, Manufacturers and Importers of Electronic Entertainment (FIDEN) with charges centred on the illegal financing of political campaigns.
The hearing for Isaac Latorre Ascuí and Alberto Antonio Hadad Abuhadba has been scheduled for August 6, in a court in the Chilean capital. Both will be charged with the alleged violation of Article 30 off Law 19.884 which regulates how political contributions are regulated. The bill establishes rules about private money in politics in order to prevent inappropriate influence over political and party’s activities. The charges relate to the failed candidacy to deputy in 2017 of Nelson Hadad Heresy, for election in Santiago’s Metropolitan Region.
Alberto Hadad Abuhadba’s lawyer, Mario Vargas expressed his surprise that formal charges had brought against his client as he “testified in the prosecutor’s office and it was established that there was no offense related to an infraction of the electoral financing law. All the records show that there is no crime. This investigation, from the beginning, has distorted the facts that are being investigated; remember that a prosecutor in the case was removed. The facts investigated have caused huge damage to the entertainment industry; we regret that my client has been charged with the damage that causes. We insist that this charge has been managed from the beginning by casino owners, who want to maintain a monopoly and penalize entertainment in Chile. ”
In January the government announced that it would be establishing a new unit with investigating allegations of corruption in the slot industry in Chile. Former heads of FIDEN had already been the focus of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor for possible money laundering, corruption, and the illegal financing of political campaigns.
The charges came after the police used wiretaps to listen in on conversations of then leaders of FIDEN for six months in 2017. The purpose of the audio recordings was to uncover payments made by slot operators to government officials in return for municipal gaming machine licences. The investigation has already allegedly unearthed links to a number of individuals involved in politics and members of FIDEN.
However FIDEN has vigorously denied the claims. In June a court in Santiago issued a judgment in favour of FIDEN which had been accused of operating illegal gambling and had been linked to the irregular financing of political campaigns.
“Now that it is sanctioned by the Justice, we emphasize that the Trade Association of Operators, Manufacturers and Importers of Electronic Entertainment of Chile (FIDEN) has never been involved in any financing of political campaigns, that their actions are legal because they have patents in 95 per cent of the municipalities, we are audited and pay taxes, ” said Vice President Ramón Sepúlveda in a statement.
