Court confiscates house ex-mayor Aguilera bought with illicit funds and that CIPER detected in 2018

The Sixth Criminal Court in Santiago confirmed on August 4 that the house purchased by former mayor of San Ramón, Miguel Ángel Aguilera, in La Reina ten years ago will be transferred to the state. The court ruled that the property was bought using illicit funds, following a ruling last year that convicted Aguilera of money laundering and unjustified enrichment. The decision marks the culmination of a long legal process initiated in 2018, when CIPER revealed the existence of the home, prompting an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office into how the purchase was financed. In 2018, a report by CIPER exposed that Aguilera had acquired the property in La Reina for approximately 350 million pesos. At the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office began examining the financial transactions behind the acquisition, which were suspected to involve illegal proceeds. This revelation came amid growing scrutiny against Aguilera, who was already under investigation by the Comptroller’s Office over alleged mismanagement of municipal resources. The pressure intensified further in October 2018, when Informe Especial published a report linking Aguilera to drug trafficker Jorge “Chino” Pinto, revealing his connections with organized crime networks. By 2021, Aguilera had launched a legal action against CIPER, seeking 1.7 billion pesos in moral damages for the publication of two investigative reports. These reports detailed allegations of corruption against him and included testimonies from his subordinates. His case was handled by lawyers Eduardo Lagos and Mario Vargas, who have since become subjects of their own investigations related to the Bielorussian affair and the Fundamenta case. However, the lawsuit did not proceed, as Aguilera and his legal team abandoned the process. In 2025, the court finally convicted Aguilera for money laundering and unjustified enrichment. For the first charge, he received four years of imprisonment under house arrest and a fine of 200 UTM. The judges determined that the purchase of the La Reina home was part of this scheme. For the second offense, he was ordered to pay another fine of 246,918,500 pesos, equivalent to the unjustified increase in his personal wealth. The court ruled that these offenses occurred between 2013 and 2017, during the period when Aguilera served as mayor of San Ramón, a role he held for nine years from 2012 to 2021. Additionally, the court found evidence that Aguilera committed passive bribery, having accepted economic benefits in exchange for performing or neglecting acts within his official duties. However, the court dismissed this charge due to prescription. In its final ruling, the court stated that the crimes of passive bribery, unjustified enrichment, and money laundering were not isolated actions but parts of a coordinated criminal network. It concluded that Aguilera, through his position of public authority, received illegal payments, increased his wealth unjustifiably, and implemented mechanisms to conceal the origins of the funds, thereby demonstrating a conscious and deliberate participation in all three offenses. Lawyers Mario Vargas and Eduardo Lagos, currently under investigation for their involvement in separate cases involving the Bielorussian affair and Fundamenta, continue to face legal scrutiny. Their representation of Aguilera has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest and ethical violations. As the legal consequences of Aguilera's actions unfold, the case underscores the broader implications of corruption in local government and the challenges of holding officials accountable for misuse of public funds. The transfer of the property to the state represents a tangible outcome of the judicial process, symbolizing the state’s effort to reclaim assets obtained through illegitimate means.