How a Sprawling Graft Probe Challenges Chile’s Clean Image

A sprawling criminal probe called Caso Audios is sending shockwaves far and wide throughout Chile. What started as a leaked recording of a top lawyer allegedly discussing bribery payments has ballooned into a full-blown scandal that has ensnared companies, Supreme Court justices and former government ministers. It’s proving a stain for a country that’s seen as a safe place to invest due in part to its reputation for transparency and rule of law.

About a year ago, voice recordings emerged from Luis Hermosilla, one of the country’s best-known criminal lawyers with close ties to the political and business worlds, with him allegedly telling a former client about bribes owed to officials at the financial regulator and the tax agency. Initial excerpts from the “audio case” went out on the local investigative news website Ciper Chile and the recordings captured the country’s attention. Hermosilla can be heard suggesting the creation of a “black box” with money for these expenditures.