Codelco announced on April 13 that it has expanded its lawsuit in the so-called “Belarusian Doll” case, adding new evidence and naming additional defendants for alleged bribery and money laundering. The updated complaint was filed with the 7th Guarantee Court of Santiago as part of an ongoing investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office into irregular actions during litigation between Codelco and the Belaz Movitec Consortium (CBM).
The expansion of legal action reflects Codelco’s efforts to address concerns about judicial decisions that were allegedly influenced through improper payments and economic benefits, resulting in financial harm to the company. According to Codelco, these actions are connected to a series of rulings issued by the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court between 2023 and 2024 in cases brought by CBM against Codelco, which led to payments exceeding $17 billion.
In this latest filing, Codelco has named lawyers Gabriel Silber Romo and Aldo Cornejo González as co-authors of bribery crimes and perpetrators of money laundering. María Pía Peñaloza López is also named as an accomplice to bribery and a perpetrator of money laundering.
The corporation said that after court resolutions favorable to CBM, payments were made that subsequently resulted in transfers intended to compensate for these interventions. The expanded complaint is based on newly incorporated background information that allegedly establishes participation by Cornejo, Silber, and Peñaloza in processing legal actions, coordinating payments, and carrying out operations aimed at concealing or disguising illicit funds.
Codelco stated it will continue working closely with investigators “so that it continues to advance and reaches all those who have participated in the criminal acts that harmed the Corporation.”
