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Original article: Cartolas revelan que Y\u00e1ber pag\u00f3 $74 millones en mensualidades al ministro Antonio Ulloa<\/a><\/p>\n A continuous flow of money, documented in bank statements, links suspended Real Estate Conservator of Puente Alto, Sergio Y\u00e1ber<\/a>, to former minister Antonio Ulloa over a span of more than six years. The records detail monthly transfers totaling $74.8 million, an essential fact overlooked in the recent Supreme Court proceedings and the constitutional accusation that led to Ulloa\u2019s dismissal.<\/p>\n According to investigative media Reportea, the payments began in February 2019, merely three months after Y\u00e1ber took office, and continued uninterrupted until 2025. This financial relationship is framed within a close friendship between the conservator and the former magistrate, involving overseas trips and Y\u00e1ber\u2019s efforts to prevent Ulloa\u2019s departure from the judiciary, as indicated by phone intercepts.<\/p>\n The first transfer from Y\u00e1ber\u2019s account at Ita\u00fa Bank to Ulloa\u2019s account at BCI was for $300,000 on February 13, 2019. A month later, on March 5, the amount increased to $1 million, which remained consistent for the next 74 months, bringing the total to $74.8 million.<\/p>\n References in these banking operations frequently mention Ulloa\u2019s daughter. \u201cHugs and love to my goddaughter,\u201d reads a transfer note from April 5, 2024. A prior transfer on July 5, 2022, states: \u201cHug, buddy, love to my goddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked by Reportea about the nature and purpose of these payments, Antonio Ulloa chose not to provide details, stating he would give his eventual version to the prosecutor. \u201cI have no comment regarding this matter. Any details will be provided, should it be determined, to the prosecutor. I have been linked through the press to high-profile criminal cases. I am not involved in any of them nor have any relation. I have already been investigated and sanctioned. I have submitted to and will continue to submit to the authorities and trust that the facts will be recognized as they occurred,\u201d he indicated.<\/p>\n Sergio Y\u00e1ber, for his part, was unavailable for questions or comments.<\/p>\n The bond between Y\u00e1ber and Ulloa dates back before Y\u00e1ber assumed the role of Real Estate Conservator of Puente Alto. When testifying before the Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor\u2019s Office on October 23, he recounted the origin of his work relationship with Gonzalo Migueles, partner of former Supreme Court minister \u00c1ngela Vivanco.<\/p>\n \u201cIn mid-2018, we coincidentally met in La Serena; Gonzalo was with his wife, Angela Vivanco, and a mutual friend named Antonio Ulloa. During that meeting, they came to my house for dinner, and I asked what he was doing; he said he was looking for work because things had gone poorly, and he had gone bankrupt with the poultry production factory,\u201d Y\u00e1ber recalled.<\/p>\n It was during that dinner that, according to Y\u00e1ber, the job offer to Migueles emerged, contingent on Y\u00e1ber\u2019s own appointment.<\/p>\n \u201cThus, knowing that he was an accountant or certified accountant, which I cannot confirm as he described himself as such, I mentioned that due to health reasons for my oldest son, who is autistic, I required a transfer to Santiago, and I was applying for the position of Real Estate Conservator of Puente Alto, which was in the shortlist and could be appointed. I offered that if I were designated, we could discuss a potential position in my office. I discussed this situation with Gonzalo and Angela,\u201d he detailed.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this context, right after I took office as Real Estate Conservator of Puente Alto in November 2018, I had a conversation with Angela Vivanco Mart\u00ednez, who indicated and reiterated that her husband or partner was unemployed and asked if I could have the opportunity to hire him once I assumed my role, to get to know my office, and always with the understanding that if I needed staff, I could remember her husband,\u201d he added, according to the article by journalist Nicol\u00e1s Sep\u00falveda for Reportea<\/a>.<\/p>\n Y\u00e1ber did not mention in his statement whether Vivanco, Migueles, or Ulloa made efforts to secure his confirmation in the position. However, payments commenced post-appointment on November 6, 2018. Y\u00e1ber transferred $3 million monthly to Migueles for alleged administrative tasks, along with the previously mentioned monthly $1 million transfers to Ulloa that have now come to light.<\/p>\n Antonio Ulloa is known for his influence within the judiciary. The inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court against him established that, through his chats with former legal advisor to the Ministry of Interior Luis Hermosilla during Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era\u2019s second administration, he influenced the appointment of at least ten court ministers. He is also featured in other conversations in possession of the prosecutor, intervening to secure the appointment of notaries.<\/p>\n Although the Supreme Court could not reach a quorum to dismiss him, Congress approved a constitutional accusation against him for \u201cnotable abandonment of duties\u201d on November 10. None of these proceedings took into account Y\u00e1ber\u2019s payments due to them being previously unknown facts.<\/p>\n Moreover, the prosecutor found, through wiretaps on Y\u00e1ber, that the conservator made efforts with Supreme Court minister Arturo Prado to try and prevent Ulloa\u2019s removal from the highest tribunal and even attempted to garner support for him in Congress.<\/p>\n The summary ordered by the Supreme Court also revealed that he leaked information to Hermosilla regarding cases of interest to the lawyer and did not disqualify himself when reviewing processes involving other lawyers close to him, such as Samuel Donoso and Mario Vargas.<\/p>\n Former minister Ulloa is under formal investigation for the crime of influence peddling by the Valpara\u00edso Regional Prosecutor\u2019s Office. This case included raids last March on his office in the Santiago Court and the Constitutional Court, where the phone of Minister H\u00e9ctor Mery, who was in charge of the Judicial Division of the Ministry of Justice, was confiscated.<\/p>\n Y\u00e1ber\u2019s payments to Ulloa have come to light amidst a broader investigation conducted by the Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor\u2019s Office regarding the alleged payment of bribes to former minister \u00c1ngela Vivanco for rulings that benefited the consortium Belaz Movitec in their legal battle with Codelco, which forced the state copper company to pay $17 billion.<\/p>\n This investigation allowed the lifting of Y\u00e1ber\u2019s banking secrecy, uncovering not only these transfers but also payments to other political figures, such as Senator Mat\u00edas Walker and Republican Deputy Cristi\u00e1n Araya totaling $1.7 million, prompting the opening of new inquiries.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Sergio Y\u00e1ber remains suspended from his position by the San Miguel Court of Appeals, which has opened an inquiry to investigate all these facts, which have come to light thanks to the investigations by the Public Ministry and reports published by the media.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPayments Under Investigation and the \u00abGodchild\u00bb<\/span><\/h3>\n
Dinner Preceding the Appointment and Payments<\/span><\/h3>\n
Antonio Ulloa: A Connected and Sanctioned Minister<\/span><\/h3>\n
Ongoing Investigations<\/span><\/h3>\n