G3 INSIGHT - CHILE
True Lies?
A national scandal unfolds A journalist in Chile claims to have seen leaked information linking President Sebastián Piñera with alleged ‘irregularities’ concerning one of the country’s leading casino operators, Enjoy.
Journalist Alejandra Matus claims to have read information contained in an investigation led by Chile’s investigative commission of the Chamber of Deputies linking the President and Enjoy casinos to several irregularities. Te controversy has seen opposition leaders since demand the resignation of the boss of the country’s regulator Superintendent of Casinos Vivien Villagrán.
In the TV programme ‘Mentiras Verdaderas’ which translates as ‘True Lies’, Ms Matus highlighted that the President had his savings managed by two companies who were also guaranteeing Enjoy’s debt, a company that the journalist claims has been ‘virtually bankrupt since 2017’ yet has been awarded four new gaming licences and been able to buy one of Latin America’s leading casinos in the Conrad of Uruguay in Punta del Este.
Te journalist’s accusations were aired on national TV where she alleged: “Tere were conflicts of interest between President Sebastián Piñera and the bidding and the extension of permits to extend the construction of casinos tendered to Enjoy SA.
“Te investigation clearly shows that two of the companies in which President Piñera has managed his fortune, BTG Pactual and Moneda Asset, are compromised, either by guaranteeing certificates or because they are guaranteeing Enjoy’s debt, with Enjoy remaining afloat even though it has been virtually bankrupt since 2017. Instead of safeguarding the public interest in the control of Enjoy casinos, it adopted numerous measures to favour it and prevent the ballots that guaranteed their unfulfilled promises from being executed. Te report is now in the hands of the Comptroller’s Office.”
She added: “Does President Sebastián Piñera have interests involved in the delicate
P32 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
situation that the Martínez family is going through, owner of the Enjoy casinos? Te answer is yes. Tere is a direct line between the economic interests of President Sebastián Piñera and Enjoy, manifested through BTG Pactual, an entity that manages $2m from its blind trust. Meanwhile, the President’s children commissioned the same company to administer $247m of its assets in Inversiones Santa Cecilia, the family holding company.”
In the programme, she questioned the conduct of SJC Chief Vivien Villagrán saying that the beneficial treatment of Enjoy ‘directly benefits the companies that administer the trust of President Piñera, whose interests would be damaged if Enjoy SA falls apart.’
Te investigation focused on the insolvency of the Enjoy group and meetings that took place between May and December 2020. In mid- 2020, Enjoy reached a reorganisation agreement with its creditors to transfer some of its $465m of debt into bonds, as well as payments with defined terms to banks and suppliers. It also looked at the extended deadlines offered to Enjoy for casinos it was to take control of in Pucón, Puerto Varas, Coquimbo and Viña del Mar. By law, the winning casino operators were granted two years from the award of the licence to construct the venues and launch operations but, by law, they could request a one-time, one year extension if they could provide ‘well-founded reasons.’
Following the social unrest in Chile, Enjoy requested the extension in February 28, 2020, prior to the pandemic. It then requested and was granted another one following the pandemic. Te casinos should have opened in June 2020.
Deputy Rodrigo González, who led the investigative commission of the case, said:
“Te sudden reorganisation of Enjoy raised great concern. I invited several deputies to form an investigative commission. What was the situation that had generated the insolvency disaster of this company and how was this going to affect the municipal interests of the Municipality of Viña, but also of the municipalities of Pucón, Puerto Varas and Coquimbo?”
“Te reorganisation [of Enjoy] meant that the revenues would no longer reach the municipalities, nor the regional governments and the treasury, and therefore there was going to be a decline causing very great damage to various regions of the country. Resources that belong to the public treasury are fiscal resources. Casino gaming is prohibited in Chile and is only allowed under legal authorisation with licences or concessions that are given by virtue of the law.”
He added: “Te investigation gave birth, but with crystal clarity, to the theory that Enjoy’s bankruptcy had no relationship with the pandemic or with the social outbreak. Te Superintendency de Casinos had not sufficiently investigated this or rather had not
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