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Original article: Conservador de Chillán revela email de Vivanco que confirmaría pago de coimas en trama bielorrusa

Amid the ongoing investigation into the so-called Belarusian scheme, the judicial statement from Chillán’s Real Estate Registrar, Yamil Najle, has provided the Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor’s Office with a crucial piece of documentary evidence implicating former Supreme Court Minister Ángela Vivanco. The evidence, a copy of an email, allegedly shows that Vivanco personally drafted one of the contracts used, according to the Public Ministry, to justify bribery payments related to the scheme benefitting the Chilean-Belarusian Consortium Belaz Movitec (CBM).

This evidence, revealed in a statement dated November 26, directly contradicts Vivanco’s defense strategy, which maintains her claim of total ignorance regarding the commercial ties and financial transactions involving her partner, lawyer Gonzalo Migueles. Migueles has been charged with the repeated crime of bribery and is currently in preventive custody alongside lawyers Mario Vargas Cociña and Carlos Lagos Herrera, who have been indicted for money laundering and repeated bribery.

The prosecution accuses the three of acting as intermediaries for a bribe payment from CBM to secure a favorable ruling in a legal dispute against Codelco.

The prosecuting body asserts that this bribe eventually reached Ángela Vivanco, who was dismissed from her position due to her connections with Luis Hermosilla, and who presided over the ruling that cost the state copper company more than 17 billion pesos, while also voting in favor of the consortium.

According to the corruption, bribery, and money laundering case led by the Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the former minister allegedly received at least $70 million in bribes from rulings that favored the Chilean-Belarusian consortium.

Email Undermines Vivanco’s Defense

The crux of this new evidence is an email sent on January 15, 2025. According to Najle’s testimony, the message originated from Gonzalo Migueles’ Gmail account but retained a subject line indicating its source: «new document, delete previous.» The email was originally sent by Ángela Vivanco to Migueles from her institutional account at the Universidad Católica.

As reported by investigative outlet Reportea, the email included an attached service provision contract signed in February 2025, in which Najle hired Migueles for «human resources» consulting at his company Combustibles Bek, for a monthly salary of 78.1 UF (approximately $3 million at the time).

For the prosecution, this contract is a critical link in a chain of simulations. Its purpose was to create an appearance of legality for a series of financial transfers that, just weeks earlier (December 2024), had concluded a previous contract with a one-time payment of $25 million from Najle to Migueles. The Public Ministry alleges that this $25 million was, in fact, a bribe intended for Vivanco in exchange for favorable rulings for the Belarusian consortium during her tenure on the Supreme Court (2023-2024).

In light of this scheme, Vivanco’s repeated stance has been to affirm her lack of knowledge about the transactions. In a recent interview on Mega, she stated: «Any transactions they might have had with Gonzalo are matters they need to explain, and Gonzalo’s lawyer is responsible for addressing it with his client. I had no idea about this.»

However, Yamil Najle’s statement submitted to the prosecution dismantles this version. When asked about Vivanco’s knowledge, the registrar was emphatic, stating, «(She) was aware, of course. When I met them, they got along very well; it’s impossible that one wouldn’t know what the other was doing. I am very clear on that.»

Regarding the contract sent via email, Najle indicated that «when Gonzalo Migueles discussed this contract, he spoke for both of them. In fact, Ángela drafted it and sent it; they both had full knowledge of what they were doing.»

«She was aware; she drafted (the contract), without a doubt… She couldn’t help but know what was happening,» he emphasized.

Pressure and the ‘Coalition’

In his statement, the Chillán Real Estate Registrar, who will be formally charged with money laundering along with his colleague from Puente Alto, Sergio Yáber, on Wednesday, January 14, described the pressure dynamic exerted by the couple. He recounted that he complied with Migueles’ requests due to feeling part of a social group from which it was difficult to escape.

«I felt a lot of pressure from them; it’s not easy to say no… I felt completely like a member of a coalition, which included Sergio Yáber and Gonzalo Migueles… They invited me to dinner, paid my bills, I went to their homes, met their families. I felt very connected to them in that regard… for me, it was important to feel like a part of this group, in which I never thought I was being used,» he stated.

Najle explained that the pressure intensified from both the former minister and her partner. «I felt forced into this… by both (Migueles and Vivanco). It’s not necessary for Mrs. Vivanco to be there. It’s enough for him to be there and say, ‘she sends her regards…’ That’s pressure,» he narrated, as reported by Reportea.

Will Vivanco Be Formally Charged?

This new piece of evidence arrives at a critical juncture. Ángela Vivanco is on the verge of being formally charged with bribery, corruption, and money laundering offenses. The prosecution requires authorization from the Supreme Court itself to formally accuse her, given that the investigated acts occurred while she was a minister of the highest court. The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court is expected to review and resolve the request in the coming days.

If authorized, it would mark an unprecedented event in Chilean judicial history: a former member of the highest court would be formally charged with corruption. The severity of the accusations, which involve at least $70 million in alleged bribes, could even prompt the Public Ministry to request preventive detention against her.

La entrada Chillán Real Estate Registrar Reveals Email from Vivanco Indicating Bribery in Belarusian Scheme se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.