Operator News
Chile – New unit charged with investigating slot corruption Chile
By Phil - 22 January 2019
A new unit will be charged with investigating allegations of corruption in the slot industry in Chile.
Former heads of The Association of Operators, Manufacturers and Importers of Electronic Entertainment (FIDEN) have been the focus of a recent 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, according to the investigation, was to uncover payments made by slot operators to government officials in return for municipal gaming machine licences. The investigation allegedly unearthed links to a number of individuals involved in politics and members of FIDEN. According to local press, the investigators intercepted telephone calls in which the names of at least eight politicians came up who may have received financial contributions from the organisation.
The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating two cases involving active parliamentarians and ex-legislators. The so called Caso Tragamonedas (Slots case), is now under analysis in the state agency responsible for supervising elections over possible irregularities in the financing of political campaigns, headed by prosecutor Felipe Sepúlveda. The other corruption case is being headed by the regional prosecutor, Manuel Guerra.
However within both investigations, weaknesses were detected in the expert reports made to corroborate the existence of illicit activities related to political funds, which is why the prosecutor’s office has now asked that the director of the Investigation Police, Héctor Espinoza, to create a specialised unit. The unit will work in coordination with the Prosecutor’s Office of High Complexity Offenses.
The new investigation will involve the best professionals available in the sphere of economic crime detection and money laundering so that they can both collaborate and deliver reliable and irrefutable proof in order to move both cases forward.
