The Talca Court of Appeals rejected the release of four defendants in the Castillo de Naipes case. It accepted the Prosecutor’s Office’s arguments and maintained their pretrial detention, the strictest precautionary measure available during an investigation. The four are under formal investigation for offenses including fraud against the state and bribery, meaning paying or receiving bribes.
La Tercera reported the decision but did not specify its date. ADN Radio also published the decision, citing Diario Talca. Neither source provides the case number (RIT or RUC, the codes that identify proceedings in the courts and at the Prosecutor’s Office).
At their formalization hearings, the defendants were notified that they were being investigated for these offenses. This does not amount to a conviction. Acting as a court of second instance, the court reviewed whether they should remain deprived of their liberty during the investigation and confirmed that they should.
The first defendant is an official in the Works Department of the Municipality of Longaví. La Tercera identifies her as Yolanda Flores and ADN Radio as Yolanda López, a technical works inspector. She is under formal investigation for criminal association, fraud against the state and bribery.
The second is Aida Leiva Torres, the majority shareholder of Constructora Pereira e Hijos Ltda. According to ADN Radio, she faces charges of criminal association, fraud, forgery and malicious use of a private commercial document, repeated acts of active bribery and money laundering.
The third is Marisel Astudillo Meza, head of the Procurement Department of the Municipality of San Javier, who is under formal investigation for criminal association, fraud against the state and bribery.
The fourth is Rodrigo San Martín, from the Maule Regional Government. La Tercera describes him as acting head of civil works. ADN Radio describes him as acting head of the Works Execution and Oversight Unit. He faces the same charges as Astudillo.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation began in 2024. Investigative work focuses on an alleged criminal association suspected of defrauding municipalities in southern Maule, the National Board of Kindergartens in the region and the Maule Regional Government. The operations allegedly took place through a construction company and a factoring company, meaning a company that purchases invoices.
The prosecutor in charge, Patricio Caroca (La Tercera spells his surname Carca), said the ruling confirms that the alleged offenses of fraud against the state, bribery, criminal association and money laundering "have been preliminarily substantiated".
With this ruling, 13 defendants are in pretrial detention in the case. The prosecutor announced that he would continue seeking to identify every person involved in the fraud, particularly within municipalities and regional agencies. There is still no formal indictment or trial date.
