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El Ciudadano

Original article: Terrenos inflados hasta en 3000%: formalizarán a alcalde de Rinconada por fraude al Fisco

On May 26th, the Guarantee Court of Los Andes will formally charge the mayor of Rinconada, Juan Galdames (Ind.RN) with crimes including tax fraud, incompatible negotiations, and falsification of public documents. Investigations also focus on the purchase of three plots of land which may have seen prices inflated by as much as 3000%.

This case is particularly significant due to the magnitude of the fiscal damage, estimated to exceed $1.3 billion.

Reports indicate that the properties were purchased from a close associate of the mayor, and meetings may have occurred outside the Lobby Law, utilizing allegedly false documents to artificially inflate property valuations.

Former councilman of Rinconada, Juan Castillo, who is a complainant in this case, stated to Bio Bío Chile that as soon as they identified the potential for criminal activity in the transactions, they requested the mayor to refrain from proceeding but received no response.

“We realized that these negotiations, these land purchases, could constitute a crime; therefore, we initially told the mayor not to proceed and that we would report him as appropriate if he did. The mayor ignored us, proceeded with the transactions, and there were transfers of large sums of money,” he recounted to the quoted outlet.

Meanwhile, the mayor’s defense attorney, José Villagrán Reyes, stated that the allegations lack foundation and are based on administrative decisions that have been misinterpreted, claiming they do not rise to the level of a crime.

CDE’s Criminal Complaint

A noteworthy aspect that underscores the seriousness of the case is the intervention of the State Defense Council (CDE), which filed a criminal complaint against Juan Galdames for his alleged involvement in tax fraud, incompatible negotiations, and the falsification of public documents.

In its complaint, the CDE accuses the mayor, along with municipal employee Hernán Espina Espinoza and businessman Antonio Vega Abarca, of having artificially inflated the valuations of three plots of land purchased by the Municipality of Rinconada.

According to reports from Aconcagua Al Día, the Council indicated that the purchase operation was conducted with the knowledge and active participation of those involved, violating both administrative and criminal regulations.

Power Cut and Press Aggression to Silence Controversy

It’s important to recall that when the controversy surrounding this case erupted in August 2024, local residents accused the Galdames administration of orchestrating a power cut to silence or divert attention.

At that time, they noted that the interruption of electrical service to homes coincided with the broadcast of a program on Mega titled «Until When?», which would reveal numerous irregularities in the Rinconada municipality related to the mayor’s management.

This report highlighted that the authority might have engaged in actions benefiting his close circle, which were approved by the council despite criticisms from council members, who were reportedly not allowed to pose questions, as noted by El Mercurio.

The controversy didn’t stop there; the journalistic team behind the report stated that after unsuccessful attempts to obtain responses from Galdames, they were assaulted and expelled by public officials and the mayor himself, who refused to address the accusations against him.

Residents of Rinconada took to the streets to express their discontent with the power cuts and the irregularities in the mayor’s administration, going so far as to demand his resignation. This led the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Los Andes to initiate an official investigation to clarify the facts.

La entrada Inflated Land Prices of Up to 3000%: Rinconada Mayor Facing Formal Charges for Tax Fraud se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.