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Original article: La cuenta le llegó a Calisto: CDE demanda al senador y busca recuperar más de $131 millones

CDE Files Lawsuit Against Senator Calisto, Seeks to Recover Over $131 Million

The State Defense Council (CDE) has initiated a civil lawsuit for damages against Senator Miguel Ángel Calisto (Ind.-Democrats), aiming to recover more than $131 million that are alleged to have been fraudulently obtained from the National Congress and the Regional Government (Gore) of Aysén.

This legal action, filed by prosecutor Paulo Gómez, marks the latest judicial challenge against the senator and adds to the increasing number of criminal proceedings he faces over his supposed involvement in a scheme to misappropriate public funds.

Fraudulent Parliamentary Consultations

The primary amount the CDE seeks to recover is $105,554,697, representing funds that the National Congress allegedly disbursed for parliamentary consultancy services. According to the evidence compiled in the lawsuit, between 2018 and 2022 Calisto colluded with Roland Cárcamo and Carla Graf—both implicated—to access state resources through a fraudulent mechanism involving the hiring of Graf as a parliamentary advisor to the then-congressman, despite claims that she did not fulfill the duties outlined in their agreement.

The lawsuit reveals that the consultancy contracts were mere facades, and that Calisto undertook the necessary steps before the Lower House to secure Graf’s hiring, fully aware that she would allegedly not perform the agreed-upon consultancy. During that period, Roland Cárcamo was allegedly providing political advisory services for Calisto, while Graf formally played the role of parliamentary advisor and received payments from the Treasury, as noted by Bio Bío Chile.

Thus, the funds intended to enhance legislative work ended up financing a parallel structure that benefited the senator and his close circle.

Regional Funds and Unexecuted Project Resources

The CDE’s action also targets $25,970,000 from the Regional Government of Aysén, specifically funds from the National Regional Development Fund that were allegedly diverted through three projects purportedly executed by the National Health Workers Federation of the region. According to the agency, the accused gained access to these resources through initiatives that were never implemented, despite the fact that the funds were indeed transferred from the regional authority.

The three identified projects are «Training Monitors for Gender Equality», with funds amounting to $10 million; «Conversations Against Violence», for $5,998,000; and «Safer Work Environments», also totaling $10 million. The beneficiary organization, the National Federation of Health Workers of Aysén, had Roland Cárcamo as a leader, who, along with his sister Natalia Cárcamo and Carla Graf, allegedly benefited from these disbursements.

This new legal action follows the recent indictment presented by the Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aysén on June 25th against the congressman, which sought to lift his immunity, a request currently under review by the Court of Appeals in Coyhaique, highlighting the seriousness of the charges against him. The CDE had already previously filed a criminal complaint against Calisto, Graf, Cárcamo, and others for a series of maneuvers that allegedly enabled the diversion of funds from parliamentary allocations. The agency asserts that the signed contracts constituted a fraudulent mechanism to extract money from the Treasury, claiming these funds were intended for personal gain or for the benefit of other individuals, further complicating the senator’s legal situation and that of his alleged accomplices.

With both claims, the CDE aims to retrieve over $131 million in economic damages for the State, while criminal and civil actions progress simultaneously to determine possible responsibilities in the investigated events.

The civil lawsuit serves as a complementary avenue to the ongoing criminal proceedings that the congressman faces and seeks to ensure economic reparation for the amounts allegedly defrauded from the national treasury, irrespective of the outcome of the criminal process that will establish whether or not there was criminal responsibility in the commission of these acts.

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