According to T13, prosecutors requested a hearing to formally charge former Supreme Court Justice Ángela Vivanco with allegedly accepting bribes and bribery in the Fundamenta case. The case is linked to the processing of a real estate project in Ñuñoa. So far, no other media outlet has confirmed the information.
According to that outlet, Santiago’s Seventh Guarantee Court scheduled the hearing for November 12. That day, the former justice must appear alongside her former partner, Gonzalo Migueles, and lawyer Eduardo Lagos.
The investigation concerns an alleged payment to expedite a Supreme Court ruling favorable to the Eco Egaña project in Ñuñoa. The Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Vivanco, then a justice on the country’s highest court, allegedly intervened in the handling of that case.
Migueles acknowledged to prosecutors that he arranged to expedite the ruling. According to his account, he did so at the request of Lagos, who represented interests linked to the property developer.
Evidence gathered by prosecutors indicates that Lagos allegedly offered an incentive if the ruling was issued before March 1, 2023. That date was crucial for the payment of fees.
Migueles allegedly received at least $13 million for those efforts. Prosecutors are seeking to determine whether that money was an improper payment to influence a judicial decision. Vivanco, for her part, has denied knowing the source of those funds.
For the former justice, this is a new court case. T13 does not detail the status of the other proceedings against her.
The case involves the Supreme Court, the country’s final judicial authority. If the charges are substantiated, it would amount to the sale of rulings in the court that has the final say in disputes involving all Chileans. For now, these are allegations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and all three defendants retain their presumption of innocence.
The next hearing is on November 12 at the Seventh Guarantee Court. There, prosecutors must formally notify Vivanco, Migueles and Lagos of the charges.
